38 Politics
Ponte Vedra Recorder · November 5, 2015
The Wildcard Goes South
Photos by Jordan E. Ferrell
Supporters of business mogul and presidential candidate Donald
Trump drove as long as six hours to begin securing their spot at the
Jacksonville Landing on Oct. 24. The crowds were swelling as early
as 9:30 a.m.
Trump lands in Jacksonville
Jordan E Ferrell
Special to the Recorder
“The American Dream is back.
We are going to bring it back
bigger, better and stronger than
ever before and we are going to
make America great again.”
– Donald J. Trump
Strange days are definitely ahead.
Playboy has announced that it will no longer be
printing nudity, LeBron James is regarded as the most
socially astute athlete of his generation and a man
who most Americans recognize from a reality TV
show is leading the GOP circuit by as much as 26
points in New Hampshire according to the most recent CBS poll.
The Donald J. Trump Express has pulled out of station and is in full locomotion.
With just under 100 days until the Iowa Caucus,
things look grim for establishment favorites Jeb Bush
and Ted Cruz. The polling data that puts the ex-Democrat, ex-Republican, independent candidate ahead of
his competition is plastered on the front page of every
weekly in the nation and discussed at least 20 times a
day on every major news network. The enigma candidate has revealed himself — and the question is not
if he is flying the highest but how long will the wind
stay under his wings.
Despite his ample lead in the southern states, Trump
went on a two-stop tour in Florida to secure a more
accurate pulse on the large and polarizing state, which
holds 29 electoral votes.
Trump’s first stop in the Sunshine State was on Oct.
23 at his very own hotel in Miami, the Trump National
Doral, where he held an enthusiastic and heavily protested rally. The following day Trump would make a
bee-line for Jacksonville, where the crowd was willing
and waiting to hear the current frontrunner speak.
A warm welcome at the Jacksonville Landing
On Oct. 24, Trump was scheduled to speak at the
Jacksonville Landing at noon. Supporters, who drove
as long as six hours to see the candidate, gathered
as early as 9:30 a.m. to secure a spot for the speech.
Chants of “We want Trump” rang out from the crowd,
which was adorned in Vote for Trump” button and
shirts, plus hats that read “Make American great again”
in every direction.
The current front runner for the GOP arrived on the
scene at 12:30 p.m. In the summer-like heat, Trump
began with statements of adoration for the city of
Jacksonville and comments regarding his self-admitted
obsession with polls and ratings. According to Trump,
he had just recently helped Chris Wallace of Fox News
achieve the highest ratings he has seen in six years
when he made an appearance on his show last week.
“People want to hear this message,” Trump said, as
people started to clap. “It’s an amazing message. And
you know what it is? It’s basically saying we are going to go out and work, we are going to get rid of all
these horrible restrictions. We are going to make this
dynamic.”
Trump continued his speech for the next 60 minutes, boasting about his numbers, taking small jabs at
the other GOP candidates (especially Rubio and Bush)
and reassuring his supporters that he will do whatever
“People want to hear this message,” Trump said to the crowds at
the Landing on Oct. 24.
it takes to make America the country that it once was.
About halfway through the rally, a group of disgruntled youth unraveled a “Dump the Trump” banner
over the side of the Main Street Bridge. The noise and
excitement coming from the center of the Landing had
clearly captivated the entire audience, though. Nothing could be heard except the sound of hands clapping and the frequent shouts of distaste for Hillary
Clinton.
One of the points Trump made sure to communicate was that he has been campaigning thus far on
his own dime and that it pales in comparison to the
amount of money other Republican candidates – with
the help of super political action committees (PACs)
– have already spent. He went on to relate his lowbudget campaign to the kind of approach government
needs to take in order to turn the country’s debt crisis
around.
“That’s what we have to do for our country,” he said.
“I’m not doing this in a braggadocios way. I’ll put up
as much money as I need. I’m not going anywhere —
TRUMP continues on Page 39