GRAND ISLAND — As the midterm environment looks bleak for Republicans, thousands of people on Grand Island came out to see and support President Donald Trump at his rally in the ruby red state.
As expected, the people waiting in line and attending the rally were staunch Trump supporters. Some were coming from other states for Cornhusker’s state visit, as the president is on a midterm campaign blitz. Nebraska has a few races considered competitive, including the Senate and 2nd Congressional District races.
Doris, who did not want to give her last name, said she traveled from Omaha to the Trump rally because she loves America and wants to keep it free.
“Freedom in America is very important to me, and Trump is all about America,” Doris told the Examiner. “It’s so invigorating to be around these same kinds of people who have the same beliefs…and who trust Trump.”
Chea Polonia, an Omaha resident, said she helped get Trump elected in 2016 because she didn’t want to vote for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A former Democrat, she said she voted for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
“It wasn’t about him, and then on (2016) election day, I was there, and he won, and we didn’t think he would win,” Polonia said. “Everyone hated it – the media, the people – and it was so honest, it was so witty that it changed my life.”
Polonia wore a hat calling Trump “bulletproof” and a necklace with Trump’s signature line, “Make America Great Again.” On her hip, as well as at her neck, were key chains she created resembling the president, whom she calls “Pocket POTUS.”
The audience was very friendly toward Trump and the other Republican elected officials on stage. Adrian Smith, Rep. from Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District, led a “Go Big Red” chant. Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen received loud applause when he said, “Boys are boys and girls are girls…over my dead body, all the boys are going to play sports against my granddaughter in Nebraska.”
Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts’ backing song was AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” and he began his speech by saying, “The Democrats in DC have lost their minds.”
Trump said the audience at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center was part of the “greatest political movement in the history” of the United States.
The crowd chanted “four more years” during the rally.
Outside the room, there were Trump merchandise ranging from hats, figurines, stuffed animals and jackets. Vendors walked down the line with carts full of hats, shouting that if people didn’t buy a hat, they might be mistaken for a Democrat.
Susie Wilkinson, a Kearney resident, said she was excited to be in the same room as the president. Wilkinson, a Trump supporter since 2016, said Trump is doing a good job in this second term.
Marlene Nabel, who lives in Garfield, Kansas, said Trump is the best president and is fighting to make the country great again.
“We need everyone to come out and vote, so socialism doesn’t take over our country,” Nabel said. “I’ve never been more involved in politics than now that I have grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and I’m fighting for them. … I will fight alongside Donald Trump to make this country great.”
Nabel said she was a Democrat about a decade ago when Trump first ran for office, but after observing how the media treated him and how Democrats — she called them “hateful” — were running the country, she switched parties.
The general elections will take place on November 3. Early voting has already started.
Examiner reporter Zach Wendling contributed to this report.
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