Trump rally sparks protest
Thousands attend in opposition
A protester waves a “love trumps hate” flag and holds a sign that reads, “Psst! MN Nice doesn’t cover: racism” at the anti-Trump protest Oct. 10 in front of Target Center.
October 12, 2019
A number of Park students joined masses of protesters outside of Target Center, where President Donald Trump was holding a rally.
Senior Yoni Potter hoped to share his objections against Trump by attending the anti-Trump protest outside the venue.
“I wanted to spread the message that I don’t support him, that I don’t think Minnesota should support him. His values conflict entirely with mine and I wanted to share that,” Potter said.
Potter said he supports protesting because it highlights controversy in the United States, and spreads the word about differing opinions.
“There is a great value (in protesting) because it shows people that there is a lot of opposition (in our country),” Potter said. “It’s making a huge statement.”
Junior Xiomara Leon agreed that protesting is crucial to speaking out against representatives we don’t agree with.
“It’s really important (to protest Trump), because a lot of people don’t really like him, especially since he’s getting impeached, which is a good thing,” Leon said.
Potter said he thinks the efforts President Trump seems to be making to win the state of Minnesota will be ineffective.
“(Trump) has an idea that he could possibly win our state, but I don’t think he will be able to,” Potter said. “He was trying to rally and get support.”
Leon said that while protesting is important, it’s also necessary for Democrats and Republicans to communicate with each other instead of fighting.
“I think (Democrats and Republicans) have to find better ways to communicate,” Leon said. “At the end of the protest, it was like a riot. The Trump supporters were coming out, and a lot of us were (cursing) at them and hitting them.”
Potter said the right to protest is an important part in advocating for ideologies.
“It’s super important to use our First Amendment rights and to show our values and beliefs,” Potter said. “(Protesting is) a very powerful tool that we have to go out and be able to protest like this.”
