The line to get into the convention center stretched for blocks around the venue. Even 45 minutes into the presidential candidate’s comments, the line had yet to disperse.
Venezuelan immigrant Astrid Gamez traveled from Fairfax County to see Trump speak.
“What is happening now happened in my country 35 years ago,” said Gamez, adding that she worries the U.S. is turning into the Venezuela she left behind, which she says gave way to high crime and a loss of the family unit.
“I love this country, but I don’t always think that people who were born here feel the same way. I tell people that I am more American than you because I chose to become American.”
Elden Ross, 82, traveled from Smithfield for the rally. He said Trump is a “true patriot” who “stands for the middle class.”
The division of the parties was among his concerns for the upcoming election. He said Trump’s prosecution by the Justice Department was causing him to lose faith in authority.
A few of the former president’s political supporters made their way around the lines outside the center to rally Trump supporters and encourage them to vote on Super Tuesday.
“He’s not bought, he’s not paid for, and everybody is trying to take him down,” said Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland. “But we the people is what it’s about, the forgotten man and woman.”
The rally Saturday came the same day the former president won won caucuses in Idaho and Missouri and swept the delegate haul at a party convention in Michigan. He campaigned earlier in the day in North Carolina.
Crowds began lining up overnight for the Richmond rally, and the line stretched multiple blocks by mid-morning Saturday.
Jamaal Barnes, 32, of Fairfax City, who works in IT, wore a T-shirt that said “Try that in a small town,” a reference to a controversial country song by Jason Aldean.
He said he came out to support Trump because the former president is a straight talker.
“He’s pretty blunt. He doesn’t sugarcoat things like your normal, your typical, average politician,” Barnes said. “I like that about him. It makes it more authentic, which is rarely something that you see today in most politicians.”
Friends Kim Payne of Powhatan and Tonya Washington of Caroline County attended the rally and described the atmosphere as “electric.”
“The people in front of us, when (Trump) hit the stage, they were so excited,” Payne said. “Their entire bodies were shaking. Things aren’t going great right now, but we all have hope, and that’s what’s in that building.”
Washington said the main message she took away from Trump’s speech was his familiar mantra of making America great again.
“We just need to bring it back to normalcy,” Washington said. “Shut the border down a little bit. I mean, I love people coming in … (but) come in the right way.”
Richmonder Sam Duncan, who joined the line when it was still stretching down Broad Street past Third Street, said it took him a couple of hours to make it inside the convention center.
“There’s still a lot of people out there, must be thousands,” he said.
“I’m hoping to hear exactly what he’s going to do,” he said. “Every word he says is gold.”
David and Deborah Dougherty of Richmond held signs protesting Trump outside the convention center. They had a couple of verbal exchanges with Trump supporters as the groups stood across the street from each other.
“We’re frightened by the divide in this country,” David Dougherty said. “The cult following is troubling. In some ways, I understand it. People are desperate at times, but he’s taking advantage of people’s fears.”
The Doughertys said Trump does not respect democracy and puts himself above the country.
“It’s no longer about Democrat and Republican,” Deborah Dougherty said. “It’s a bad person who lies and steals and does things that he thinks are beyond reproach.”
Lillie Dolan and her husband came from Cartersville and ended up having to leave early, but said it was “something special” to get to see Trump in person.
“It was something that I didn’t know if I’d ever have the opportunity to see again,” Dolan said.
A dog wearing a Trump hat passes by people waiting outside the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Saturday for former President Donald Trump’s rally.
Supporters of presidential candidate Donald Trump hold signs mounted on squeegees outside the Greater Richmond Convention Center before the rally on Saturday.