Hair secured firmly in place by what I can only imagine is wood glue (or magic), Donald Trump looks smugly on his sea of about 8,000 loyal supporters at a rally Friday night.
“Shut up!” “Take a shower!” the crowd jeers, as the first of at least 25 protesters is escorted from the Dorton Arena in Raleigh amid boos and choruses of Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye."
“The dishonest media … will make that one person into a headline,” Trump says to the crowd. "They can't even use the plural, they can't print the 's' — but they'll say, 'Trump has protester.'"
That was before Trump's carefully planned and well-rehearsed speech* was interrupted at least nine more times by protesters chanting phrases like, "Love, not hate." At least four of the protesters were affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Trump has been criticized for his comments on gender, race and immigration, most famously his proposal to build a wall between the United States and Mexico — a plan he brought up again during the rally.
Alan Marines, a first-year at N.C. State University, said he did not attend the rally out of support for Trump, but as a form of protest against the candidate's disparaging comments about his Mexican heritage.
"He's not really fond of my race. It's really interesting to see him elaborate more on topics such as illegal immigration and the wall, as well as what he's going to do about illegal immigration," he said.
Trump also discussed building up the American military, supporting veterans, taking back Chinese jobs and blocking Syrian refugees, all while criticizing the Obama Administration and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's pantsuits.
"(Hillary) puts on her pantsuit, she walks in, does an event and then you don't see her for four days, five days. You know why? She goes back home and she goes to sleep," he said. "This is not what we need as a president. We need tremendous energy, we need tremendous smarts, we need somebody that's gonna get the job done."
Despite the controversy surrounding the business mogul's campaign, supporters remained fiercely loyal to the candidate — physically attacking protesters in at least two instances.
Andy Kurth, a Trump supporter from Raleigh, said he admires Trump's candor and role as a political outsider.
"I'm so sick of Washington, D.C. and the regulars and the Bushes and the Clintons and the dynasties," he said. "I like his refreshingly honest voice, I think it's what Americans want to hear."
Though protests at the Raleigh rally were the most disruptive on the candidate's campaign trail to date, he seems undaunted by the backlash.
Raleigh, North Carolina, was fantastic last night. Such incredible spirit. We all want to, and will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 5, 2015
*This is facetious. As The Donald himself so eloquently put it, "But he said, 'How do you speak in front of' — and I don't use, like, teleprompters and I don't have a written speech, like, have a written speech it would be so easy, you read, ladies and gentlemen, and, by the way, I love North Carolina."
state@dailytarheel.com
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