“Horrible,” “a waste of time” and “a waste of money.” Those are words from people lined up to see President Donald Trump in Battle Creek Wednesday. They were describing the effort to impeach the president, a few hours before the final vote. One supporter also explained why he won’t be voting for Justin Amash anymore, and a vendor described his bestselling shirt, the “Trump .45."
Impeachment
Jerry Rohn of Sterling said he drove three and a half hours to see Trump. He wasn’t the only person in line who expressed disgust with the then-impending impeachment of the president. Rohn says everyone knows what’s going to happen next, in the Senate impeachment trial.
“It’s going to go down. We’re positive of it, it’s going to go away. And it should. It’s an embarrassment on this country.
Rohn says Trump absolutely has his vote next year.
Amash
US Representative Justin Amash might have had some supporters at the rally. But he certainly had some former supporters. Amash left the Republican Party over the summer. He’s now an independent, and on Wednesday he voted to impeach President Trump. Wally Koeberl said he lives in Amash’s district. Koeberl called Amash a patriot who’s very true to what he believes.
“He believes it, okay, and you can count on what he says being the truth. But if he doesn’t support the president, I’m not there,” he said.
Koeberl added that he’s voted for Amash in the past but doesn’t plan to the next time around.
The Trump .45
For some people the event was a business opportunity. Vendors hawked hats, buttons and more, some with a straightforward “Trump 2020,” others more creative: “Adorable Deplorable”, “Make Liberals Cry Again” and a few slogans with words that aren’t family-friendly.
Joe McCollum is from North Carolina. He’s sold merchandise at several Trump rallies. McCollum’s bestseller is a shirt you could call trigger-happy. He calls it the “Trump .45.” It features a picture of a handgun.
“Because the 44 didn’t work for the last eight years,” McCollum explained. Trump is the 45th US president (depending on howyou count Grover Cleveland).
McCollum said Battle Creek was also the coldest Trump rally he’d been to. A stiff wind made the freezing temperatures seem even colder.