TRNN speaks to protesters who say they oppose Trump’s racist rhetoric that incites violence like that they witnessed on Friday.
Story Transcript
JAISAL NOOR, TRNN: Republican party frontrunner Donald Trump canceled a rally Friday night in Chicago after thousands of protesters from a diverse coalition of groups began loudly demonstrating inside the event, with thousands more joining outside. At least 31 were reportedly arrested. A Trump staffer took the stage half an hour the rally was slated to begin, and told the crowd that the event would be postponed for safety reasons. He did not say when or if it would be rescheduled. After the announcement was made, the crowd began to chant and cheer. Scuffles broke out at this time as signs were ripped from hands, and police moved in to break up areas with the most serious conflicts. Trump appeared on several national news outlets after the event, and said he canceled it over safety concerns after meeting with local law enforcement. DONALD TRUMP: And when I met with the various law enforcement agencies, [Greta], I decided it was looking at me–I don’t want to see people get hurt, and I don’t want to see people get hurt or worse. And I decided very strongly to make a decision not to do it. NOOR: Law enforcement agencies later refuted that claim. This led some Trump critics to allege the event was canceled only to get Trump more publicity ahead of Tuesday’s crucial primaries. After the event we reached protester Danielle Boachie, a grad student who was inside the rally. DANIELLE BOACHIE: Obviously he is extremely racist. His white supremacist ideals have no place anywhere, and so I think it’s really important that when he comes to, you know, whatever city he comes to, it’s important to try to come in and disrupt and make sure that he doesn’t have a platform to speak on such, on all of his racism and bigotry. I witnessed a lot of Trump supporters both inside and outside of the pavilion being very physical, pushing, shoving. I saw a Trump supporter, like, throw a punch. And it was especially, like, jarring or interesting, because like, in the inside once we learned that the rally was canceled, we all, like, rushed out into the pit. And we were singing, and it was very, like, really good vibes because it felt very victorious, like we shut down his rally where he was going to say all these really horrible things. And his supporters obviously very angry. He threw, pushing us around, trying to snatch people’s signs. NOOR: Mateo Uribe-Rios, a University of Illinois Chicago undergrad, was among the hundreds of students among the diverse student groups representing black Latino undocumented, who came out to oppose Trump. MATEO URIBE-RIOS: This was a collaborative of UIC students, many students of color, undocumented students, student organizations, that collaborated to make sure that this, their voices were being heard. And we wanted to make sure to address how much of a public safety issue Donald Trump is. NOOR: The events in Chicago follow another series of violent acts at another Trump rally the same day in St. Louis. For the Real News, this is Jaisal Noor from Baltimore.
End
DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
