After protesters caused a stir at a wildly overbooked Trump rally in Burlington, Vermont, on Thursday night, the Republican presidential frontrunner said people who aren’t supporting him or are still on the fence shouldn’t attend his rallies.
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Anyone who did not answer with some version of “yes” was not allowed inside.
Trump came to Sanders’ adopted hometown hoping to expand his support beyond neighboring New Hampshire, where he is leading in the polls, and show his ability to garner large crowds in a rural blue state in which Republican presidential candidates seldom spend time.
“I don’t want to see my grandchildren with something like that”. Trump asked, drawing boos.
In November and December, Trump held six rallies in Iowa, visited a local production plant and held one town hall, flying home each night. Trump says that students on campuses in gun-free zones are nothing more than “bait” to sickos.
From the theater balcony came chants of “Bernie!” It definitely wont be Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton, he said. Two women yelled “Racist!” at the speaker.
Baldwin’s sister, Abby, said she was there to hear Trump speak, and possibly hear something she had not heard before.
At the beginning of the event, audience members were told not to touch protesters and to instead signify where they were standing. They were greeted in hero-like fashion by a hoard of Sanders supporters and other protesters standing outside in frigid temperatures to hold down their turf. Others staged more of a vigil than protest, holding candles.
Trump went from amusement to impatience as the interruptions continued, suggesting security needed to step it up in removing the interlopers – and teach them a bone-chilling lesson. “The air is so nice and clean”, Trump said after taking the stage.
Trump also spoke at length about Sanders, criticizing the way he responded to Black Lives Matter protesters at an event in August and accusing him of wanting to raise taxes to 90 percent.
In a statement provided by his spokeswoman before the event, Trump said his campaign staff was granting ticketholders entry based on their support for his campaign because of the volumes of hopeful attendees.
Residents stand across the street from the Flynn to protest Donald Trump’s rally January 7. Sanders predicted he would beat Trump decisively in a general election and ticked off several digs the Democrat has taken at the Republican front-runner lately, including calling him a “pathological liar”. “I do not believe in somebody coming out with irresponsible ideas”, said Leahy.
During his speech, Donald Trump targeted his fellow Republican, Ted Cruz, but Hillary Clinton and her husband, alongside Mr. Sanders, were mentioned as well.
According to the New York Daily News, 20,000 people signed up for tickets to the 1,400-seat venue, meaning that thousands of people had to be turned away at the doors.
“Not everything in a presidential campaign can be accomplished with a speech or a rally”, said Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, a grassroots conservative political group, and a former White House political director for President George W. Bush.
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“There was a man in a suit who asked us if we were Trump supporters”, said Jennifer Vincent of South Burlington.
