BY COLE WHITE | the Statesman Thousands of supporters and a handful of protesters turned out to see Donald Trump in Superior, Wisconsin in preparation for the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday.
The campaign rally was held in a hangar at the Richard I. Bong Airport. Only 500 people made it in, with another 1,500-2,000 waiting outside.
Trump entered the hangar to loud applause. The key points of his speech were stern criticisms of his political rivals and “establishment politics.”
“We’re dealing with a corrupt system, a system that’s not fair,” Trump said.
Trump proudly stated that his campaign is self-financed and that he has turned down millions of dollars in donations.
“Politicians are good at two things: raising money for themselves and getting elected,” Trump said. “They’re all talk, no action.”
As for the campaign, Trump focused most of his attention on his chief republican rival, Ted Cruz.
“I’ve met guys that are tougher, but I never met a guy that lies like that,” Trump said.
The audience responded by chanting “Lying Ted,” a nickname embraced by the Trump campaign.
He accused Cruz of being entirely controlled by his donors and not his constituents saying, “I represent America first.”
The strongest applause was in response to Trump’s promise to bring jobs and manufacturing back to the country from overseas. “Thousands of factories have closed and we’re not going to take it anymore,” Trump said. He suggested higher taxes for businesses that moved overseas as incentive to keep them stateside.
He accused President Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement of “crushing the middle class” and sending decent jobs out of the country.
Trump then turned his attention to the media, which he described as “unbelievably dishonest.” He addressed the criticisms of his behavior and that he doesn’t act “presidential.”
“I can be presidential, I will, but I got to knock over the other two,” Trump said, referring to his republican opponents Cruz and John Kasich. “I got to be un-presidential a little longer.”
“We cannot be politically correct, I’m sorry,” Trump said. “I don’t even care, I have to tell the truth.”
Finally, Trump brought up his well-known border wall proposal to strong cheers. Relating to his Wisconsin audience, he described the border as swiss cheese. “Full of holes,” Trump said. He again assured his crowd that Mexico will pay for the wall.
Trump ended his speech with an optimistic view for Tuesday’s primary.
He said, “You’ll look back and see that this was one of the most important afternoons in your life.”