Donald Trump won the 2020 election and anyone saying otherwise is wrong – at least that’s the belief among the supporters who turned out to cheer him at a rally in Georgia.
“Four more years!” They chanted at an airport on the outskirts of Valdosta.
To the sound of music and screaming, the president and first lady stepped onto a raised platform, surrounded by a wall of well-wishers, many of whom were wearing red Make America Great Again hats and waving posters.
“They cheated and rigged our presidential elections, but we will still win them,” Mr. Trump said.
Had him The first gathering Since Election Day on November 3 – a vote lost by the incumbent Republican to Democratic rival Joe Biden.
However, it did defeat several thousand men and women at the airport – most without face masks and without social distance – they refused to acknowledge.
Instead they seemed convinced that the elections were stolen from them.
Even the gathering was called a victory march.
Many cite a surveillance video that the Trump campaign claims shows secret “bags” of ballot papers being counted on election night without observers at a location in Georgia, despite Republican election officials rejecting them.
President Trump shared the footage during the rally, and was booed by the crowd as the media opened an encircled area – as they see it – for failing to convey the true story of the election.
A man waving the slogan “Stop theft” on a cardboard poster, his name is Steve, told me: “I think fraud is in your face. There is an enormous amount of evidence and people saying there is no evidence so you don’t search.”
He added, “I want to send a message to support Donald Trump because we love Donald Trump and help stop the election theft of our freedoms and our country.”
Another man named Keith used Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Star Wars character, who was killed by Darth Vader, but returned as a more powerful force, to describe what he believed would happen to the President if he did not serve a second term.
He said, “He will be stronger in defeat than he was in the actual Oval Office.”
“I know Donald Trump is a fighter. We support Donald Trump because he supports the American people and that is why we support him now. We will support our president.”
Despite his anger at what he sees as fraudulent election results, Trump has urged his supporters to take part in next month’s crucial run-off for the two Georgia seats in the Senate.
If the Republicans fail to hold on to them, the balance of power in the upper room will shift to the Democrats, in a move that would enable Biden to move forward with his agenda and challenge Trump’s legacy without getting involved in bipartisan bickering.
But for fans of Trump at the airport, it is impossible to imagine such a possibility because they believe he will serve a second term.
A man, dressed in a red, white, and blue American flag uniform and calling himself “Uncle Sam”, said: [Mr Trump] He is our CEO, he’s our commander in chief. He will defend the republic. Joe Biden has not won and will not win. “
Election results indicate otherwise.
In fact, Georgia state voted the Democrats for the first time since 1992.
On the way from the march, in the center of town, the mood is much more than the joy of Christmas from the election fever.
Marley Atkinson, 30, a mother out of the house with her two young children, said she was unimpressed by Trump’s fraud allegations.
She said, “I feel that he is only behaving like my child when he did not get what he wanted, and now he is upset with that and this destroys any chance for me to vote for him in the next elections.”
Zombie specialist. Friendly twitter guru. Internet buff. Organizer. Coffee trailblazer. Lifelong problem solver. Certified travel enthusiast. Alcohol geek.