Editors note: Jacob Marx is a political science major and senior at Monmouth College in Illinois. He is also a political reporter for the college newspaper The Monmouth Courier. Marx is attending the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and has volunteered to be a correspondent for WQAD News 8. Follow him on Twitter @Marxrunner13 and check in to the WQAD News 8 convention live blog for ongoing coverage from Cleveland.
As the Convention kicked off on Monday, so did the protests and rallies. On the pro-Trump side of the spectrum, “Citizens for Trump” held an America First Rally. The event began with many attendees milling about and discussing Donald Trump and their disdain for Hillary Clinton, with many of them wearing t-shirts stating “Hillary for Prison.” Prior to the rally, 25 motorcycle riders from “Bikers for Trump” arrived with a deafening roar. Some of the highlights of the rally were speeches from Roger Stone, Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopolis, and a few others.
Two major anti-Trump rallies occurred on Monday with both clogging up the streets of Cleveland. The first began around 2 p.m. with roughly 300 people involved. The group continued down the road to the Cleveland Mall, where they had speeches and an impromptu rally. It was relatively peaceful until a pro-Trump/Christian group that had armed members showed up and began to harass the protesters. Tensions heightened between the two and the bike police officers created a barricade with their bicycles between the two groups. After about 10 minutes of yelling, the groups separated and the protests dissolved. The second major protest had about 500 people involved, most of whom appeared top be with the Black Lives Matter movement. This protest was very peaceful and the activists and officers were very gracious and polite towards each other.
The evening inside the Quicken Loans Arena was just as exciting as the morning, during which the “#NeverTrump” movement held their last stand. Arriving after the delegates had already been seated, I was greeted with the full scope and size of a major American party convention. The theme of the day was “Make America Safe Again.” Between the speeches of various Republican Party figures discussing Benghazi, Fast and Furious, and illegal immigration were movies about similar topics. The whole night played into the prevalent Republican theme of the many mistakes made by the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton especially. Throughout, obligatory Ronald Reagan mentions and standing ovations for dramatic speeches (especially that of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani) abounded. The evening was capped off with an expected speech by Melania Trump and an unexpected introduction by Trump. Although Trump’s appearance had already been leaked, the delegates responded excitedly as he walked on stage. Other party luminaries who spoke included former Texas Governor Rick Perry, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, and Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, United States Army retired. The most emotional moments of the convention so far, however, were the speeches of the parents and siblings of those killed by what the Republican Party saw as mistakes by Clinton and Obama.
