Trump Campaign Comes in Hot To Roanoke

Donald Trump, Mike Pence and local Republican supporters acknowledge a positive show of support from the crowd of 1000 plus people that were able to squeeze into the meeting room on Monday.
Donald Trump, Mike Pence and local Republican supporters acknowledge a positive show of support from the crowd of 1000 plus people that were able to squeeze into the meeting room on Monday.

Donald Trump arrived on time, fired up and ready to go as he took the stage with running mate Mike Pence on Monday afternoon at a sweltering Hotel Roanoke.

While the campaign stop for the GOP Presidential ticket was advertised as a Town Hall style meeting, most of the hour-plus session was devoted to stump speeches by both Pence and Trump who spoke for just over 40 minutes before fielding questions at the end.

Per his usual style, Trump spoke without the use of teleprompters or notes except for a short list of “Tim Kaine disasters” which he referred to while lambasting the Senator.

Another target of his ire was the Hotel Roanoke itself, which he blistered for a ballroom that he said was “way too hot.” He playfully threatened to not have his campaign pay for the rental in protest. “I don’t know what hotel this is but they oughtta try turning on the air conditioning,” Trump said to rousing cheers.

A spokesman for the hotel – owned by Virginia Tech but managed by the Hilton chain – said the system was working properly. The heat index outside approached 100 degrees and several people waiting for the doors to open had to be treated for heat issues by Roanoke Fire-EMS.

Among the elected Republican office-holders present for Donald Trump’s appearance was 9th District Congressman Morgan Griffith of Salem. Griffith said he would expect to have at least some disagreements with Trump should he be elected president – and Griffith promises to voice them, if and when that is the case.

“While I don’t agree with the way he uses his words sometimes he sees an opportunity to make America great again and he’s going to seize it,” said Griffith, who stood on a riser behind Trump during the meeting. 6th District Congressman Bob Goodlatte and other prominent local Republicans were also standing in support behind Trump and Pence.

Many Donald Trump supporters were surely pleased to see the Republican nominee in the Star City, but Roanoke Vice-Mayor Anita Price, a Democrat, was not one of them. Price and other Hillary Clinton supporters gathered for an anti-Trump rally at Wells Plaza several hours before the Town Hall.

“Belittling and shouting over others does not convey productive communication skills. The same goes for collaboration,” said Price. Another speaker – Roanoke County Democratic chair Susan Cloeter – criticized Trump for what she said were derogatory remarks made about women in the past.

From the dais, Trump delivered much of his standard stump speech and wasted little time in criticizing Democrat Hillary Clinton’s choice of U.S. Senator and former Virginia governor Tim Kaine as her choice as a Vice-Presidential running mate.

“He’s a political hack. He’s always been in politics,” Trump said. He also took aim at what he said was Kaine’s poor record as Governor. “This guy did a lousy job. If Mike Pence or me were running Virginia we would do great.”

Trump also said Kaine’s selection would not sit well with many supporters of Bernie Sanders, whom his camp hopes to court.

It was no accident that the first Trump-Pence joint campaign appearance came in Virginia just days after Clinton named Tim Kaine to the second spot on her ticket; Virginia is still seen as a “swing state” that can help determine the presidential campaign winner.

Barack Obama took the last two elections for the Democrats after decades of Republican domination, and Roanokers should expect a visit from Hillary Clinton to or near the Star City sometime before November.

Either way, Southwest Virginians likely haven’t seen the last of Donald Trump.

Gene Marrano

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