Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016, at Oral Roberts University’s Mabee Center.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and his newest supporter, Sarah Palin, visited Tulsa on Wednesday in front of an audience of at least 7,000 at Oral Roberts University’s Mabee Center. (Trump’s camp counted the crowd as several thousand larger. Mabee Center staff said the arena’s maximum capacity is 11,300, and a large section of the seats were roped off behind the stage.)
Palin acted as Trump’s hype man during a brief introduction, before Trump spoke about education (“It costs too much,”) immigration (“We’re going to build a big wall, a beautiful wall,”) among other topics.
Some of the attendees spoke to The Frontier on why they came to the event, and what about Trump interests them, or turns them off.
Jim Nicolotti, Tulsa
“I got here at about 7 a.m., and there were about 50 people ahead of me. You like my shirt, you should have been at Madonna. One out of about every three people was dressed like her, including the men.”
Mark Palzer, Tulsa
“Realistically he’s the one candidate that can take out the Democrats. I’m not a big ego person, so I really don’t like that aspect (of Trump.) I don’t like his hair. But he speaks the truth. America is in trouble, man, and someone has to ante up. I think with his business background, that’s what America needs right now.”
Carson Campbell, 15, Metro Christian High School
“If I could vote for anyone, I’d vote for (Marco) Rubio. I really came out here today because I think you should be able to hear all the candidates without the filter of the media.”
Rich Hanks, Pryor
“He’s ready to take a stand and focus on what needs to be focused on. I know not all Muslims are bad, I know that, but there are some, and I’m not going to risk my family’s lives, or your family’s lives. So let’s bomb the shit out of the bad ones.”
Wade Goodwin, 27, Tulsa
“I’ll say that I don’t not like Trump. He’s a celebrity and I wanted to be a part of this. Would I vote for him? Depending on the Democrat nominee. If it’s Hillary, then yup. I don’t trust her.”
Bryce Swank, 39, and Dylan Swank, 15, Sapulpa
“I’d vote for Trump. This is my first political event, so I’m excited.”
Valin Bodie, 20, Oral Roberts University student from the Bahamas
“The media pushes what they want to, so I’d rather hear it from the source. I feel like the media only pushes negative. I’m taking a government class, so I’m interested in this election. He’s the first candidate I’m hearing from in person.”
Chandler Box, 17, Bixby High School
“I just want to hear what he has to say about what he’s going to do. I just feel like this is a historical event in Tulsa. I will vote for Trump if he’s the nominee. I wanted to see this in person. I take a lot of social studies classes, and I watch 60 Minutes with my dad. But this is really the first election I’ve been invested in.”
Brian Hart, and Tina Hughes, Oklahoma City
“I’m a die-hard Trump supporter. He’s the only one who wants to help the people. I haven’t been big into politics until Trump got involved, but now I am. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have paid attention.”
