Trump supporters find ‘family’ at Make America Great Again rally in Macon

Days before one of the most divisive gubernatorial races in recent memory, Nancy Sellers of Box Springs, Ga. said it felt good to be surrounded by so many like-minded people.

“It feels like family,” Sellers said. “Everybody thinks alike. You don’t have to be careful what you say. You can express your beliefs without retribution or wondering if someone’s gonna hit you over the head.”

Sellers often feels like she has to watch what she says. As a conservative Christian and Tea Party supporter, she sometimes feels like her beliefs are under attack.

“I’m not a confrontational person, so I am not comfortable even sometimes with expressing how I feel, especially if the person is aggressive,” Sellers said.

But at the Make America Great Again rally Sunday at Middle Georgia Regional Airport, Sellers found herself in good company. Thousands of Trump supporters traveled from across the state to see the president in person.

Dressed in a pink “Women for Trump” shirt and a “Make America Great Again” baseball cap adorned with a Melania Trump pin, Sellers spent the day chatting with fellow supporters. She and her husband, Greg Sellers, left their home at 7:30 in the morning to beat the crowd.

The day passed quickly, though, Sellers said. She enjoyed talking to the other attendees.

“We’re all like-thinking,” she said. “We all want to be here. We appreciate what he’s doing. “

Bruce Carter of Austell, Ga., also left home early to see the president.

Living in a small town, Smith normally only gets to see the president on TV. She was excited to take part in the movement in person.

“It’s great,” Smith said. “I love it.”

Smith thinks critics of the president misunderstand his platform.

“I think they don’t understand because they don’t want to, maybe,” she said. “Because, how could you not want your country to be great?”

Sellers said she doesn’t agree with everything President Trump says or does. But she supports his stance on things like abortion, and she’s glad to have a businessman in the White House. She hopes to see one take the governor’s seat, too.

“We want to fight the blue wave,” Sellers said.

Georgia Sen. David Perdue visited Macon for the rally, and he was emphatic that the president’s visit would would help Kemp.

“Look at this right here,” the senator said, pointing to the crowd watching the president and his travel party get ready to leave. “You tell me that didn’t help drive out votes for Kemp all over the state of Georgia.”

Samantha Max is a Report for America corps member and reports for The Telegraph with support from the News/CoLab at Arizona State University. Follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/smax1996 and on Twitter @samanthaellimax. Learn more about Report for America at www.reportforamerica.org.

This story was originally published November 4, 2018 at 6:56 PM.