Protesters brought Trump’s rally in Erie, Pennsylvania to a brief halt, carrying signs demanding that the GOP candidate release his “tax forms.”
As the protesters were calmly escorted out of the stadium, Trump did not respond, besides quipping that Bernie Sanders‘ protesters had a lot more passion.
One reporter tweeted that there were Black Lives Matter protesters in the venue as well. Trump responded, “Go home to mom! And your mother is voting for Trump! She’s voting for Trump!”
Trump has repeatedly refused to release his tax returns, citing on ongoing audit. Experts have pointed out that there is no reason why an audit should preclude him from releasing his returns. Trump has even refused to release returns prior to those years that he claims are currently under audit.
After Donald Trump compared it to a “war zone” on Tuesday, the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, joined the parents of a dead soldier, our country’s fire marshals, Paul Ryan and a human baby as the most recent addition to Donald Trump’s ever-growing list of mortal enemies.
At a rally in Virginia, Trump said the city of 49,673, which he had flown into the night before, “looked like a war zone where you (once had) these massive plants,” according to the Associated Press.
Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian, said the words came shortly before noon Tuesday.
Trump said Harrisburg PA "looked like a war zone" from his plane
Tuesday night, Harrisburg fired back, saying in a statement that Trump made “an unfortunate mistake” disparaging the city “after a mere glance from the window of his airplane.”
Mr. Trump has made an unfortunate mistake in disparaging Pennsylvania’s capital city after a mere glance from the window of his airplane. Harrisburg is renowned as the heart of our commonwealth and a capital of unique beauty and charm.
Mr. Trump should know that Harrisburg and its residents are an integral part of the United States, which he is vying to lead. Its rich history and natural beauty have won both the respect and acclaim of some of America’s greatest leaders and patriots.
Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton “the devil” on Monday as he rallied supporters in this battleground state.
Trump’s extreme characterization of the Democratic presidential nominee came as he criticized Clinton’s former presidential primary challenger Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont for endorsing Clinton.
“He made a deal with the devil. She’s the devil,” Trump said Monday as he rallied a rowdy crowd of supporters packed into a high school gymnasium.
Trump has accused Sanders several times in the last week of selling out by endorsing Clinton — each time ratcheting up his words — but his comment on Monday is the most direct comparison Trump has made between Clinton and the devil.
Speaking in Davenport, Iowa, last week, Trump accused Sanders of “selling out to the devil” by endorsing Clinton.
And at a rally in Colorado on Friday, Trump said, “Bernie blew it. He sold his soul to the devil.”
This may be part of a pattern of the Trump campaign. At the Republican National Convention in July, Trump surrogate Ben Carson linked Hillary Clinton to Lucifer, the devil, through Saul Alinsky during his speech. The irony was not missed as Alinksy’s book “Rules for Radicals” talked about the way people demonize political opponents so that others see their opponents as “devils.”
It’s just Trump’s latest foray into negative campaigning, coming just days after the GOP nominee said he was “starting to agree” with his supporters chanting “Lock her up” in reference to Clinton at a recent rally.
Meanwhile, Trump’s labeling of Clinton as “the devil” follows his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, recently saying he doesn’t believe “name calling has any place in public life.”
With a crowd of thousands still piling into the stands and onto the dirt floor, the PA system at the Farm Show Complex’s large arena crackled to life with an unusual announcement, one it had likely never made before.
“If you see a protester, do not harm them. This is a peaceful event,” said the man’s voice on the other end.
It was an unusual public appeal, not only for the venue, but also given the context.
This was a presidential campaign stop by a presidential front runner.
But Donald Trump’s campaign has been unusual in almost every-way. Unusual in its nose-thumbing at political leaders. Unusual in its imperviousness. Unusual in its polarizing effect.
And so it was no more than five minutes into Trump’s event Thursday, with thousands still in a line snaking around the palatial Complex, that the first protester was spotted.
“Get him out. Get him out,” Trump said with a swipe of his hand.
Minutes later there was a second one, this time chanting “Black Lives Matter.” The man was snatched up by police and rushed through a cattle chute and into the hallways outside.
Halfway into the event, ejections of protesters had become so commonplace that Trump developed a rhythm.
“Aren’t Trump rallies fun,” he said to uproarious applause.
“The protesters are giving up ’cause we like it, we have fun with it,” he added.
And they certainly did.
But for every dissenter inside, there were more out.Donald Trump protesters outside of rally in HarrisburgMore than a hundred protesters faced off with Donald Trump supporters outside of Trump’s rally in Harrisburg on April 21, 2016.
Outside the building, hundreds of protesters had gathered, growing from just a handful earlier in the day. After the event, they faced off with Trump supporters as they filed out of the arena and toward their cars.
They traded barbs earlier in the day, which later escalated into verbal threats and taunts.
Inside, Trump got in on it, too.
“Let him go. He’s got no voice. I can’t even hear him,” Trump said of one protester before commending police for the speed of their extraction.
A Capitol Police officer told PennLive that protesters would be told to leave the building and could face arrest if they returned. The officer added that some could be arrested on the spot depending on the severity of the disturbance they created. That did not appear to be the case on Thursday. But there was at least one person taken into police custody outside, before the event ended and the unrest grew.
During his speech, Trump took aim at his detractors, insinuating the protest movement was something other than homegrown.
He said protesters in New York, when pressed by media, expressed ambivalence about their anti-Trump message or favor for the candidate himself. He pointed to signs and placards he said appeared mass-produced, hinting at a third party’s involvement.
But those outside the Harrisburg event said their own convictions led them to protest his appearance here.
One of them, Keith Bentz of Harrisburg, blamed Trump and his campaign for a divisive tone that he feels has the nation “splitting itself down the middle.”
Another man, Michael Betsill of Harrisburg, helped organize Thursday’s protest through social media platforms, and said of Trump, “what other campaign has caused this ever? What other candidate has ever caused so much chaos among a nation and that’s why we’re here.”
He added, “Everybody that’s involved and seems to be supporting [Trump’s campaign] has one vision for what America should be. America is already great, there’s not one person who is gonna make this country great again.”
Across the police barrier, Trump supporters dismissed characterizations of the campaign or Trump’s message as racially incendiary and said the protesters were likely just supporters of a political opponent, such as Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders.
Ryan Leonard said Trump’s stance on issues like immigration weren’t about race, but about “what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s legal and illegal.”
Another supporter, Chanse Firestone of Denver, Pa., said it wasn’t about race, but rather the refusal of some in this country to buy into the American Dream.
“Everybody says it’s about race. It’s not about race. It’s about putting America to work.”
Around him, other supporters shouted “get a job,” and “no more handouts,” at members of the opposing group. There was a moment when the sides pushed in toward the middle and a flashpoint seemed inevitable.
But cooler heads prevailed.
Inside the event, meanwhile, Trump was back on the subject of his protesters, saying most were there to disrupt and agitate.
But he assured the rabid crowd of thousands that he was in control.
“Remember what I said, the safest place on earth is a Trump rally.”
Protests erupted between Donald Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters at a Pittsburgh convention center where the Republican front-runner held a campaign rally.
Hundreds of demonstrators awaited Trump backers outside the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, dancing and shouting epithets about the presidential hopeful. At the height of the chaos, police shoved and Trump backers lingered for confrontations.
A drum pounded, signs waved and megaphones blared near an exit for the rally, which drew thousands of attendees. Trump backers and protesters shouted at each other in some areas. In others, the demonstration had an almost jubilant flair, with protesters dancing as they chanted: “Hey hey, ho ho, racist bigots have to go,” or “Fuck Donald Trump.”
For perspective, protesters had filled most of this area, chanting: "Hey hey, ho ho, racist king has got to go." pic.twitter.com/lBMZxT8ECC
Inside, the Trump rally had been among the least eventful of his campaign. One protester disrupted Trump’s speech, held just under two weeks before the state’s Republican primary. Several anti-Trump activists stood silently inside the convention hall exit with their fists raised in the air.
Convention staff and police eventually closed the exit near the protest, shuttling away rally attendees and reporters. Officers wearing riot gear walked demonstrators away from the convention center around 40 minutes after Trump’s speech ended. The crowds dispersed as people filtered through the streets of downtown Pittsburgh.
Police were on alert before the event after a group called “Pittsburgh Open Carry Events in Support of Trump” said members would be armed and patrolling outside Trump’s Oakland appearance, according to the Pittsburgh City Paper. Their objective? To stop any attempts of roadblocks much like the one protesters ended up creating Wednesday, according to one user.
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