President-elect Trump Kicks Off Victory Tour in Ohio

By: Mason Di Palma – News Editor

The streets of downtown Cincinnati were jammed as President-elect Trump kicked off his victory/thank you tour at U.S. Bank Arena Thursday night. Trump won the Buckeye state on Nov. 8 by eight points over Hillary Clinton, and paved his  way to victory in other key swing states about a month ago.

This is Trump’s first return to Ohio since his historic victory, and his first time back in Cincinnati since his massive rally of 22,000 in the very same arena. Cincinnati is located  in Hamilton County which did vote for Clinton this year. Despite a loss in Hamilton County, Trump addressed the crowd by saying thank you to the state of Ohio.

The President-elect retold his historic rise to the presidency by preaching to Ohioans that they answered the call to participate in a piece of history that will never be forgotten. The ‘movement’ that Trump has called his campaign was one that he says, “The world has never seen before.”’ and that this election was not about the politicians and the pundits, but the American people in what he calls ‘America First.’

Hours before arriving in Cincinnati Trump, was in Indianapolis where he made a deal with Carrier Air-conditioning that will see 1,100 jobs stay in the United States instead of moving to Mexico. He preached to his supporters and the country that more deals like Carrier will be happening under his administration.

Sandra Matz a woman from Dayton said, “He is already starting to follow up on his promises and he has not even be sworn in yet.” With Ohio losing over 287,000 manufacturing jobs since NAFTA was enacted, talk of successful deals like the Carrier one excited Ohioans’, as they have witnessed the destruction of companies leaving the state.

“The days of companies leaving the country are over,” Trump said as he stressed the idea of trade being a two way street, where not just one side benefits. These ideas of what Trump calls “winning big league” lead him to address the people and have a call for unity in this country which he says is, “very divided.”

This call to unity hit home with the people as mass chants of “USA USA USA!” broke out after the President-elect put down globalism, and said “we pledge allegiance to one flag and that flag is the American flag.” The strong passionate message that Trump delivered reminded us of campaign Trump whose unfiltered nature and strong voice lead to his historic election.

Although the feeling inside the arena was energetic and optimistic about the future, protesters did gather outside of U.S. Bank Arena holding signs of ‘not my president,’ ‘love Trumps hate’ among the many. Mass amounts of protests have broken out since Trump’s victory and still have not let up, as other states and cities have made their discomfort known.

People might be saying that, America is broken and America is not unified and our new President has a message for those people. He said, “America is not unified now but we will come together and I think people are going to be very happy.”

For people like Marc Czulewicz this was not just a rally, but it was a thank you for not only working hard, but for believing in something that that you are passionate about and Czulewicz said, “We did it and I can’t believe that I am standing here in this arena for a victory speech, it just doesn’t seem real.”

It is certainly real and Trump is not done yet as he will travel to more swing states that helped him claim the presidency. With inauguration day just a little over a month and a half away, Trump is finishing up choosing his administration and most importantly taking the time to thank Americans for believing in his cause and truly accomplishing the impossible.

Photo Courtesy of trbimg.com