Welcome to deplorable bitter clinging flyover country.
Hours before sunrise, Debbie and Mike Robbins of Wise River became the third and fourth people in line at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark for President Donald Trump’s second campaign rally in Montana in two months.
“It’s overwhelming,” she said.
As she sought shelter from the sunshine on this 84-degree noon hour, Debbie said even hearing old Trump clips broadcast to the crowd of more than 300 (ultimately about 10,000) and growing made her teary.
She expected the rally would be “a bit crazy” and that she would be in tears for most of it, but would be glad to be an American.
“He’s somebody working for the American people. He cares about the American people not his own agenda and that’s why I’m here,” she said.
No one in the crowd expressed any concern about the bombshells of the week, an anonymous New York Times column from a “senior cabinet member” claiming to be restraining Trump or the release of details from an upcoming Bob Woodward book that portrays a White House in chaos.
Waving a large American flag with an image of Trump, Joe Parratore of Helena said Trump “has taught us there is a lot of fake news and you have to put on your news filter.” […]
Debbie Robbins, too, ignored any negative news and said people opposing the president are making fools of themselves.
Robbins, 67, voted for the first time to vote for Trump. Her registration didn’t go through so she drove 60 miles to same-day register and vote in Dillon, the county seat.
She and Mike only wish he could be in office for 20 years.
She said the limited coverage of Medicare is a major concern.
Mike Robbins said Trump has an ambitious agenda and needs support to get it accomplished.
“We know how important it is to be united,” he said.
Shirley Blome, 80, of Billings said she’s angry at the media’s treatment of the President.
“He’s done so much for the country,” she said.
Susan Richard of Great Falls was in line to see Trump in July but the arena filled up before she (and thousands of others) made it inside. She came to Billings as a volunteer.
“It’s going to be crazy, wild and fun,” she said. “It’s going to be informative with Trump talking. Everybody is going to be excited Trump is here.”
She said she wasn’t concerned about the latest negative news stories.
“He’s very smart. He’s the only person who could do what he’s done so quickly,” she said, citing jobs, “stopping” the Korean nuclear threat and moving the embassy to Jerusalem. “He says what we’re thinking and what we want to say.”