President’s stop in Kentucky highlights the nation’s political, philosophical divides

President Donald Trump brought a packed Freedom Hall crowd to its feet Monday night.

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 11 p.m. — The 2016 presidential primary and general election pushed national political parties further apart, leaving us with an even more polarized electorate than ever before. As tumultuous as President Donald Trump’s first two months in office have been, I knew a presidential visit to Louisville Monday evening was an event not to be missed.

JIM BROOKS

The president’s visit was apparently to promote support for the Republican healthcare legislation to Republicans, an unusual turn of events given the fact Republicans have generally agreed (and Republicans campaigned on) a promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Action, aka, Obamacare.

According to news reports out of Washington, President Trump’s biggest obstacles of the healthcare plans in a vote planned for today in the U.S. House are conservative House Republicans who have vowed to vote against the bill.

The president’s speech Monday night avoided mention of the nuts-and-bolts gamesmanship of Washington politics. His visit designed to give the president an opportunity to remind supporters of the objectives he is pursuing as the country’s 45th president — and his need for the GOP-dominated Congress to support his agenda.

Scores of protesters were encamped by the main gate of the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, waving signs and angrily chanting at Trump supporters (and media) as they entered the fairgrounds and searched for a decent parking lot. The traffic moved slowly, and protesters took advantage the captive audience in front of them.

The protesters were an eclectic mix of young and old, with an equally diverse range of causes they were protesting. The topics ranged from healthcare to the environment, from the economy to military spending, and from tax cuts to immigration reform and more.

My wife and I made our way to the press area and secured our seats at about 5:30. The seats in the lower section were mostly full by this time. The upper level seats filled quickly as the 7:30 event time neared, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took the stage to introduce the president.

McConnell’s appearance on the stage brought the crowd to life with what became the second loudest round of boos of the night. The loudest boos were reserved for the media in attendance when President Trump later complained about his treatment by the news media.

As a journalist, I’ve been called lots of names before, but you’ve never lived until you’ve been booed by a crowd of 18,000 prompted by the President of the United States. (Editor’s Note: I was just happy there were no chants of “Lock them up! Lock them up!”)

The crowd at Freedom Hall exploded in cheers and applause as President Trump walked on stage. It was a friendly crowd of course, and the president clearly soaked in the crowd’s thunderous cheering and applause.

The president spoke for about 40 minutes. Unlike his performance during some of his campaign events, Trump never missed a beat when a protester inside the event attempted to interrupt him.

The president’s comments sounded to me like his version of “management by objective.” He listed the goals he and his administration are pursuing, each goal presented as a change for the better. If the goals sounded familiar, they were mostly recycled from his presidential campaign.

I felt the crowd was responding to more than the laundry list of hot-button of issues he mentioned and his proposed solutions. Part of the president’s appeal goes beyond policy and details; his appeal to many is based on the promise of a stronger, more prosperous America, one that will mean brighter days ahead for the country and offer opportunity for all Americans.

But with an important vote due today on the proposed Republican healthcare plan that lacks sufficient Republican support to pass, President Trump may get a lesson from the title of the song he uses to close his events: The Rolling Stones’ 1969 hit, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

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