In a campaign rally at Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma, Donald Trump and Sarah Palin met with boos and cheers as the two touted the front-runner’s platforms.
“Enough of the status quo—it’s got to go,” Palin said. “In this great awakening, you all who realize that, man, our country is going to hell in a handbasket under this tragic fundamental transformation of America that Obama had promised us, know what we need now is a fundamental restoration of America.”
Trump held his rally in ORU’s Mabee Center, which faculty member Steve Rydin says is one of the best venues in the area for major events due to size and parking. Rydin says that while he is an employee of ORU, he doesn’t speak for ORU. Trump leased the space, and the event was not sponsored by the university.
At the rally, Palin praised Trump’s lack of political skills, echoing a worship service by asking for a “Hallelujah,” but some of Trump’s points seemed contrary to the Word of God.
“I’m a very greedy person,” Trump said. “… I want to be greedy for you. I want to be greedy now for the United States.”
Both uttered a few expletives in regard to the Obama administration and the Islamic State. Despite being uttered on a profanity-averse campus, those comments garnered some of the biggest cheers of the afternoon.
“There is an assault on Christianity,” Trump said. “There is an assault on guns. There is an assault on everything that we stand for, and we’re going to stop the assault.”
Trump made a hard push for military advancements, education reform and border control, among other points, in a speech that stunned some, including student Alex Mills.
“I think his message is one like I haven’t heard before,” Mills said. “I have seen multiple messages and speeches by politicians and have found Trump to be far varying from what I have experienced. It seems like he does strongly express his opinions and with blunt wording, which was a shock at first but has been generating a great response.”
For those who vocally disagreed with Trump’s statements, ORU faculty member Rydin said they were dragged out to Trump’s “Get the (expletive) out of here.”
Rydin said another person who shouted “Liar” was forcibly removed by security. “I think there was a lot of tension from the protesters … . It seemed security was tight, but there were some near fights.”
Another ORU student said Trump appeared more interested in insulting people than promoting a particular message.
“The rally to me honestly felt like a college football game,” student Sarah W. said. “Everything was about the hype, the yelling, the protesters, etc, but there was nothing of substance, but rather just yelling, ‘We hate ISIS!’ As a Christian, Trump proclaimed (while on a Christian campus) that he wants to make Christians great again, but the only thing his platform is doing is making Christians look hateful and angry. The rally was an exact representation of that hatefulness.”
Other students, however, resonated with Trump’s message.
“Personally, I believe that Donald Trump was very well spoken and gave several good points this afternoon. Mr. Trump talked about what he could do to better our country and how he would be different from any of the other candidates in this election,” student Emily Bishop said. “Politically, I went into the rally not knowing where Mr. Trump stood on any issues. I was happy to be informed with where Mr. Trump stands on these issues. I still do not completely know where I stand or who I stand with. I do love how passionate Mr. Trump is about our country and how he could bring change to the United States.
“I was very excited that I was able to be apart of ‘history’ in the making,” Bishop said.
Trump ended his speech with his professed love for America.
“We have a country that we’re proud of and that we love and that we’re not going to lose,” Trump said. “Oklahoma is a special place. I’ll be back again. I love it!”
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