Today I went to the Donald Trump rally in Ashburn, VA. Since I know good people can disagree over whether or not to support Trump, I am just going to post some candid thoughts below. I report, you decide!
Since I am the chairman of the Loudoun County Republican Committee, I was working with the campaign in advance of the rally. On Monday evening, a senior Trump staffer emailed me and asked me if I would be willing to give the invocation at the rally. I said I’d be happy to, but I also told him that as a born again Christian, I end my prayers with “I pray all of this in the name of Jesus.” Since I know that in this day and age mentioning the name of Jesus can offend some people, I said I’d understand if they preferred that someone else give the invocation. His response to me was: “We know that’s how you pray, that’s why we asked you.”
After the welcome (by Republican Party of Virginia Chairman John Whitbeck), invocation (by yours truly), pledge (by Loudoun County Sheriff Michael Chapman), and National Anthem (by Briar Woods High School Teacher Nina Peyton), we waited back stage to get a photo with Donald Trump. And then – he was there, with a crowd of staff, Loudoun County Sheriff’s deputies, and Secret Service. I was immediately struck by his presence – he radiates confidence, but also I was struck by his soft spoken demeanor. He spoke softly and thoughtfully the entire time we were backstage.
The first person to get a photo with him was an older man. We had been chatting before-hand while all of us were waiting for Trump to arrive, and he introduced himself as Lieutenant Colonel Louis Dorfman and he had served in the 82nd Airborne. He shook hands with Donald Trump, and handed him his Purple Heart saying he wanted Trump to have it as thanks for standing up for wounded vets. Trump was surprised and said something like “I can’t take this!” We were all surprised and not expecting this. It was pretty cool to see the respect this veteran had for Trump.
Then it was my turn to shake hands with Trump and get my photo taken. I told Mr. Trump that I was the chairman of the Loudoun County Republican Committee and he immediately stopped and looked at me: “Will, how do I win Loudoun?” he asked me. We started talking and he called over one of his staffers. “George, these people here in Virginia know what we need to do to win Virginia.” And then – in a really cool turn of events – John Whitbeck, the GOP chairs of Prince William County and Arlington County, Trump’s campaign staffer, and me are all huddled in a corner, photos forgotten, strategizing on how Trump will win Virginia. Trump didn’t do a lot of talking. He listened to all of us, he made sure his staff had our emails, and he said that we would have everything we needed.
As we finished up the photos, Trump looked at all the Sheriff’s Deputies. “Let’s get them in the photo,” he said. And then he was taking group photos with all of the cops. They loved it. In fact, my favorite photo I took was all of the deputies with Trump. I was struck by how Trump didn’t forget the “little people.” Even though it was just a few of us and no media, he was relaxed and took the time to get photos with everyone.
The rally itself was super cool. Lots of energy, packed room (something like 2000 people had to be turned away because the auditorium was packed – and just on 24 hours notice!), everyone stood the entire time even though they all had seats. Trump discussed the importance of the Supreme Court, and gave a shout out to the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation for endorsing his selection of 11 potential candidates he had for Supreme Court nominations. He specifically said that he would appoint justices like the late Justice Antonin Scalia. He also mentioned how the Second Amendment was critically important, and that he would protect our Second Amendment rights.
One thing I want to mention is the baby crying, because that has been national news. Contrary to news stories, it was a very funny thing, Trump was very supportive of the mom calling her and her baby “beautiful” and “wonderful”, and then when the baby kept crying he turned it into a joke. Everyone was laughing and it was actually very endearing and funny. Not at all anti mom or anti baby like the media has portrayed it to be.
Which brings me to the final point: I was there and saw and heard the entire event with the mom and baby. There was nothing to it. But then after I’m reading all the news coverage saying “Trump hates moms and babies!!!” I started to doubt myself. Did I really miss a huge story right in front of me? I started asking others who were there, including a husband and wife with young kids. And everyone in the room said the same thing: there was no story here. Trump was being funny and personable and going out of his way to make sure the mom wasn’t embarrassed by making it a funny situation. My conclusion is that the media is selling us a narrative. Be very skeptical of what the media is telling you, because I saw it with my own eyes and it was something very different.
Will Estrada is the Chairman of the Loudoun County Republican Committee, and is an attorney. He and his family reside in Leesburg, Virginia.
22 comments
Nice report. Thank you, Will, for sharing your first-hand impressions.
Voting for a Clinton is like sticking your finger in the eye of every sexual assault victim.
The emperor has no clothes. Don’t blame the media for recognizing that painfully obvious fact. When interventions are needed with a presidential candidate, there is a serious problem.
Too bad you didn’t sic Trump on Miss Jeanine. You should have told him to go pay her a visit.
Great story. I am really happy you could go. Meeting Trump is an experience in it of itself. However, it is really frightening to me that as a person in politics you wrote, “My conclusion is that the media is selling us a narrative. Be very skeptical of what the media is telling you, because I saw it with my own eyes and it was something very different.” I am shocked that people are just starting to figure this out. Spend some time at the Conservative Treehouse, they do excellent research.
Best of luck to you in working w/the Loudon RNC, I hope people will help you to get out the vote for Trump. Every Patriot should be helping in some way, shape, or form.
American Thinker as well. Their article on Muslim impact on healthcare and hospitals is an eye opener.
Thx, I will check it out. W/out even reading it I can say having the “foreign” docs has marginalized our healthcare, they don’t understand our culture and because of that some bad decisions are made, especially in the VA. I don’t mind foreigners that will practice w/in our society, culture, and method, but don’t remain if you want to practice w/third world mentality here in the USA.
” My conclusion is that the media is selling us a narrative. Be very skeptical of what the media is telling you, because I saw it with my own eyes and it was something very different.”
Thanks for posting this great article, Mr. Estrada! Wish I could have been there myself, but reading your detailed account is the next best thing.
Okay work with me here. These are literally the words out of Trump’s mouth:
“Actually, I was only kidding. You can get the baby out of here.”
Presumably, somebody told him that sarcasm can and will go wrong in a million ways. Supposedly somebodybtold him everything he says from now on is liable to be quoted. Supposedly somebody has cautioned him not to go off script other than to issue a compliment. Or go for a kill. But to take the risk just to look funny? Rookie mistake. ROOKIE.
I’ve got it. He got the delegates. Check. He’s the nominee. Check. Both facts. I wholeheartedly trust Mr. Estrada’s recap of what really happened. But this blog’s self-described political warriors who’ve enthusiastically schooled others on this dog-eat-dog process of an election should now not whine that the media has printed Trump’s words verbatim. This is your boy. You got him here. His humility is losing the race with his mouth and all we can do is watch this B-grade horror movie unfold. Pass the popcorn, BigRon.
You are simply setting yourself for a very sad November. Fret not, he will be your President just as he is your nominee. Be patient, eventually you will come to wisdom.
You missed the part where he talked about how bad the economy was in the nation’s wealthiest county.
…
Yeah, that is why that county doesn’t want Trump. He wins and their greased palms stop getting greased.
I keep telling my friends that you have to wait a couple of days for the truth. The media intends to portray Trump as a buffoon and as mean and ugly as Hillary.
Today, I talked with a friend about the Khan situation. He was upset with Trump being insensitive to Khan – the media story line. I asked him if he actually heard what Trump said and he hadn’t, just had impressions. I also asked him if he knew anything about Khan senior, he had no knowledge and showed no real interest or curiosity. He didn’t know what Sharia was, and that Khan senior considered it superior to the Constitution in matters of law. He also had no knowledge concerning the disappearing website, the corruption associated with the types of VISAs Khan processed, and the likely play for pay ties between the Saudis, Kahn, Hillary and the Clinton Foundation.
It is tough to get people to be patient and wait as it gives time for insane ideas to percolate through the electorate with rebuttal. The good in all of this is that more and more people are understanding that the media is colluding with the socialists of both parties, and they are discounting the press. Trump’s large rally attendance is a sign the people have had it and really don’t care about the baloney.
Keep digging.
You bet. American woman killed in London. These machete and knife attacks are coming here in the same frequency that they are happening in Europe. You can bet your life and death on that.
Truly stunning this person did not know Sharia.
And khan, one one the foremost authorities on sharia, said there was no such thing as sharia law. This just gets more and more bizarre by the day.
Trump needs to be very vocal Kahn took his website down. Taquiyya is an amazing tool, our gov’t has learned well from the practice. And yes, things are more bizarre by the day, couldn’t agree more.
I have a friend that is letting her daughter go to Germany next year for an exchange program. When I suggested that was not a good idea and explained, her answer was “Oh, I wasn’t aware of all that”. Some people prefer to watch cooking and craft shows instead of following what is going on in the world. What really scares me is her kid isn’t particularly street savvy or worldly.
The Truth About Hillary’s Bizarre Behavior
…