On Monday, October 24, 2016 at 2:30, Donald Trump Jr., son of Presidential Republican Candidate Donald Trump, came to a crowded Brick Street Bar and Grill to urge Ohioans to vote in the upcoming election.
Election Day is coming up and Ohio, a notorious swing state, would be an important win for Trump. His son told the crowd that this is one job his father does not need. Nonetheless, he wants to evoke change.
“We have an opportunity here to put someone (in the office of President) who has actually created real jobs. Not someone who talks about it like this magical unicorn that you can just summon and jobs appear, but someone who’s actually done it,” he said.
Another main point of Trump Jr.’s was that his father wants to end career politicians. He believes that all politicians, whether Republican or Democrat, have created a mess and have one thing in common, “they’re politicians and they haven’t done it for themselves in the real world.”
“We finally have a chance to drain the swamp,” he said. This elicited cheers and a chant from the crowd echoing his words.
He continued, saying that his father has the ability to break up the cartel in Washington and knows the responsibilities and expectations that come with this job. To which someone in the crowd shouted, “Pay your taxes”. He responded, “Okay, he’ll have a couple.”
Butler county representative to the Republican party of Ohio, Ann Becker and a volunteer of the Trump campaign, Brittany Brown, introduced Trump Jr. emphasizing the values Donald Trump has instilled upon his children.
“This is an interesting year to be a Republican,” said Becker.
At around 1:00 p.m., the line to get into Brick Street was down the street with protestors beginning to show up, signs in hand. Additionally, there were police officers and police dogs standing guard by the door.
On the other side of High Street there was a sign in a window that read, “A nasty woman lives here.” Numerous people on the sidewalk had signs that read, “Love Trumps Hate.” A few others that stood out were “Pussy Grabs Back” and “White People Only” with an arrow pointing to the line of attendees waiting to enter the bar.
At around 1:20 p.m., students and Oxford locals began to file in and the crowd of protestors doubled in size. Brick Street workers let in a few people at a time, instructing attendees to sign in and have their bags checked.
Inside, the bar walls were covered in Trump signs and students were handing smaller signs to those who wanted one. People made their way to the bar, ordering beers or other drinks, and then began to form a large crowd around the stage anxiously waiting for Donald Trump Jr. to appear.
Sophomore Valerie Lowrey was one of the students in the crowd. She said she is not a firm supporter of either candidate, but she thought it was a great experience and would be interesting to hear what he had to say.
“It’s not every day that someone who is so relevant to such a crazy election comes to your school,” she said. “I really wanted to go because this is such a huge election and a son of one of the candidates is speaking at one of our local bars. It’s pretty cool.”
Trump Jr.’s speech was eight minutes in total and he failed to mention his father’s comments towards minorities, the comments he made with Billy Bush, and the 11 sexual assault allegations against him.
After his speech, Trump Jr. put on the Miami hockey jersey that he was gifted with that had his last name and the number sixteen on the back and shook hands with people in the crowd.