The ‘most important election in our lifetime.’ Trump supporters flock to Macon rally
As they waited for shuttles to take them to the section of the Middle Georgia Regional Airport where President Donald Trump was scheduled to speak Friday evening, people from across Georgia and the southeast shared why they had gathered in Macon to support Trump.
Joel Herrin and Al Day plan to vote in their first presidential election this year. They said they “love Trump” and wanted to get an in-person look at “who we’re backing.”
“Me and my family run a small business,” Al said, adding it’s a pest control business. “I like the fact that Trump likes to keep small business owners in mind. I think that’s what’s going to help my future the most, is back Trump. I think the way he’s handled the pandemic, keeping people informed but not getting people into a panic, has made it to where I’m able to conduct my business.”
Georgia has had high unemployment rates throughout the pandemic, reaching its peak in April with a 12.6% unemployment rate. Georgia had a 5.6% unemployment rate in August, with around 272,700 people unemployed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Joel added he has “a problem with everybody being sensitive about everything” and he likes how Trump “just cuts all of that out.” Both said they’d previously contracted COVID-19 and weren’t concerned about getting it again at the rally.
Atlanta’s Keisha Williams said she is “not a Biden supporter, never have been, never will be.”
“I support everything Trump stands for. This country is going backward,” she said, adding that undocumented immigration is the issue she’s most concerned with.
Billy Ingram attended the rally with his wife Christy. Both Christians, Billy noted that he votes based on his values.
“President Trump does line up mostly with those,” he said. “If a person is not a Christian, they should at least look at the values of our country and what our country has stood for.”
He called the Nov. 3 election the “most important election in our lifetime, if not the last 100 years or so. I think that it’s important that people vote not based on personality. I’m thankful for a president that will protect life... If Black lives matter as an adult, [they] should matter when one is in the womb.”
Kim Brown, Sandy Wilder and Sherri Brunkow came to the rally from North Augusta, South Carolina, their fourth Trump rally. They said they were concerned about protecting their freedoms, including “schools, churches, the wall being built, the guns... we have to protect ourselves and our freedoms. Keep God in and socialism out.”
Geoffrey and Julie Zimbelman said Trump was who America needed “right now.”
“He has common sense and is putting America first,” Geoffrey said. “He supports our heroes, supports our law enforcement and law and order... everything against the liberal agenda.
They weren’t concerned about contracting the coronavirus. Georgia health experts have warned about the risk of contracting COVID-19 at the rally.
“I think [Trump’s] right about COVID-19; it should have never left China, once it got here, it’s one of those things that if you get it, you get it,” Geoffrey said. “I don’t think it does any good to keep the country locked down and ruining the economy on top of people getting the virus. I don’t think that’s a good strategy.”
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 6:38 PM.
