My review of 10/27 Trump rally: Murphysboro, IL

Finally, here are my more extended observations and comments from my family's attendance at the Trump rally in Southern Illinois, on 10/27/2018. I'll hit a few high points, but not spend a lot of time on what the President said -- here is a link where you can watch, yourself:

My intent is more to let people who've not been to one of these rallys "see" what they are like, or for those who've attended in the past, maybe see how they have evolved or in what ways this rally may have been a bit unique. I also take the local Republican Party to task.(!)

We were delayed in leaving for the rally due to church activities my wife was involved in, and we were 1-1/2 hours away, so I knew the chances of getting a good "spot" to see President Trump directly were zero. I also knew the parking lot being set up in a field @ Southern Illinois Airport could only accomodate 1200 cars, and media had reported a shuttle service to offsite parking would be provided. So, prior to heading out to the rally, I kept checking online and media sources to find out what those offsite parking provisions were, so we could head directly there. To my mild consternation, no such information was ever made public. This was my first clue that the efforts made by local Republican organizations would be pretty pathetic.

SO... We ran past what I thought might be a couple likely offsite parking locations, on our approach to the airport. I also imagined we might see some signs on the way "in" to help provide direction to said parking. There was... nothing. This route slowed us unnecessarily a bit -- as it turned out we should have just driven directly to the airport: Approaching "Airport Road" we saw a couple police cars at the intersection, and it was not blocked, so at least we knew the reports it was the preferred way in were correct. (There are actually several routes "in" -- media had indicated they would be closed.)

Driving in we saw a few small groups (handful's of people here and there) out protesting. Half (at least) looked like druggies, the signs were crude and unimaginative, and all in all, the protest effort was much weaker and less than what I expected. Past the airport entrance (still on Airport Road) we saw groups of cars parked in scattered areas. One had small buses nearby, but the makeshift lot appeared to be full. Going further the numbers of cars parked off to the side decreased, so we turned around. Recognizing that our AWD and good ground clearance would let us park where many cars could not, I found a spot pretty much IN a ditch and parked across from the buses. We hoofed it over to the buses and took one into the airport. The bus dropped us off, oh, maybe 1/4 mile from the helicopter hangar where security was processing a still impressive line of people. This was a bit after 4 pm, so we worried we might not get through security before Trump began speaking. We were still in line when AF-1 came in, and at that point, even though the line was moving well, we thought "oh, dang!" However, evidently the President spoke to the press for a while, so we got through security and up to the jumbotron out in back of the hangar, well before the President made it to the stage.

While walking that 1/4 mile in, another group of protesters, maybe 15 or so, went by (going out?) chanting protests, and again mostly looking like a miserable bunch of people. They were followed by a lone guy ranting about "riot police" being present. Well, yes, there was one group of 20 or so police gathered together who must have been the source of his complaint. They did not have shields, but were well armed. I guess he's never considered what kind of security a POTUS needs! If he'd been a bit more observant, well, there were snipers up on the control tower. From our vantage point they looked about 1/3" tall. It's a bit spooky to realize that from that distance, they can take you out if they see the need to do so.

Security's check of incoming rally attendees was very professional, efficient, and, reasonable. I'd taken along a big old red coat I had, assuming it'd be chilly as dusk fell, and at the last minute before getting scanned I discovered a small flashlight in an inner pocket. I figured it'd be confiscated, but, I took out the battery, left the flashlight "open" and put it in the tray with my wallet and cell phone. The security guy gave it a close look and put it back in the tray, even reminding me as I picked up my "stuff", "don't forget your battery". Well, by golly! After the rally, in the dark, that flashlight was handy.

Once through security, it was on to the big hangar, or, should I say, the jumbotron @ the rear. After a few minutes, my wife split off, and unbeknownst to us, around the side of the hangar found a bigger jumbotron, as well as a small podium that President Trump stopped at to address that part of the overflow crowd, for a few minutes. Nice touch.

One thing I noticed was that, in addition to the freelance vendors outside the venue, a food and drink concession, and a large "official" Trump-Pence merchandise booth were set up a few hundred feet away from the main hanger. However, none of the local candidates, nor the local Republican Party had ANYTHING set up, that any of our group saw, to distribute anything, sign up volunteers, promote local candidates, etc. There were not even, really, a decent number of candidates' signs on the way in. This seemed to me to be a huge opportunity missed. Sad to say, I'd have to rank the local Republican Party and candidates' efforts as even more pathetic than the scraggly few protesters. I still find myself shaking my head over that one.

Once the President made it to the main stage, the crowd roared its approval, and the President began his remarks. I posted a couple of my reactions here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3700368/posts?page=29#29

Beyond that, I thought the President looked and sounded good; he did not berate the media too much, probably realizing that the locals do not hate their local media quite so much as the national media; he was very sincere about the horrible attack in Pittsburg; and he spent a lot of time focusing on local topics and concerns. To be fair, while he got to repeating himself a bit oddly about steel, he did hit the mark on coal, which is much more important to S. IL. That said, he also addressed the national security aspect of steel, which is no small matter, and he addressed the problem of unfair tariffs other countries put on our agricultural products. The lady who said "WHAT?!" about Canada's 275% tariff on dairy products from the US is probably typical of 95% of US residents.

Immigration and the "caravan" were big topics too. The President made his points well, but I do wish he'd make the point that if this attempt at mass illegal entry is allowed to succeed, literally millions more will follow. Separately, he could also point out that nations that lose control of their borders do not survive for long.

The President spoke of the urgency of having the crowd get their friends & families out to vote for Republican candidates: I hope everyone really took his words to heart.

Once the President concluded his remarks, my daughter and I tried to hunt down my wife. Between night falling, my wife's confusing directions and the cell service cutting out (probably overloaded), it took a while. We found her near that little podium beside the hangar, where people were gathered hoping President Trump might swing past again. While waiting in the increasing chill, someone started singing the national anthem, and we all joined in. :-)

Finally, the President came out & headed to his car. He did not swing past us (it would have been rather out of his way), but I think he heard us, as he stopped, turned, and waved over his car at our group, before getting in the car and heading to his plane.

At that point, then, we headed out, passing back through the security hangar (no "checks", just limited access to exit), and walked the 1/4 mile or so to the shuttle pickup, where we had to wait quite a while before traffic cleared enough that the shuttles could get to us. I was glad I'd stopped at a porta-potty before we left the hangar area! That chilly air...

Finally the shuttles arrived. Loading took a while too, but some of that was loading up a couple elderly vets in wheelchairs (I was honored to assist slightly) -- nobody minded. Then it was off to the outlying parking via a very roundabout route. Getting close we had to wait for more traffic to clear, which produced a memorable moment as someone looked out a window back toward the airport and exclaimed, "They're walking out through the cornfields!" Sure enough, a number of people had decided not to wait for the shuttles, and were hiking across a couple miles of muddy fields, in the dark, to get back to their cars. I could not resist making a crack: "Well, just so they are not Zombies", which elicited a round of chuckles.

Eventually the bus moved up to a point where we could disembark, which turned out to be close to our car. I "AWD'd" it out of the ditch, and we headed home, detouring slightly on the way for a brief visit at my Mom's. She and her sitter had watched the rally on TV, and were watching the evening (local) news on the Station out of Cape Girardeau. Coverage seemed reasonably objective, other than giving those few protesters altogether too much air time, and camera angles making them look more numerous than they were... We then continued on home, I checked coverage here, made a couple comments & called it a night!!!

I suppose my summary would be: I'm glad we went, it was a good appearance by the President, and the local pub campaigns sure blew a great opportunity to make the most of it.

Thank you for your report. Thanks for taking the time and effort to put in all the details.

It’s always good to read/hear a first hand account.

We are going to a Trump rally on Thursday. My wife is always anxious about things and these are some of the things she is worried about. Can we bring a container of drinking water? Do they have water fountains there? Do they have access to port-a-potties or whatever?

Thanks.

I’ll answer with what I know firsthand.

You can take anything you want,for the hours that you will spend in line BEFORE you get to the TSA/Secret Service screening. At that point, you’ll have to leave chairs, coolers, and any food outside. We left all of ours outside, and they were all still there waiting when we came out. It is essentially the same drill as when you board a plane, although you will be allowed to keep your shoes on!

Yes, there should be porta-potties outside (before screening). The one in Murphysboro had a (excellent local place) food vendor inside, as well as even more porta-potties. I don’t know anything about the venue in Columbia, maybe you could ask the local Republican group, or check local media on Facebook?

It is so much fun though! One of my friends described it as the same feeling that you get in church, that everyone around you has the same beliefs. LOL!

Agreed on all points.

Security even let me keep a small (single AA battery powered) flashlight with me (see my OP for details.) Not that I can guarantee that in all instances!

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