President Trump visits St. Charles

November 30, 2017

Grace Roberts

President Trump delivers a speech at the St. Charles Convention Center. This speech discussed tax cuts for small businesses.

On Nov. 29, President Trump paid a visit to St. Charles to give a speech about his plans to cut taxes for small businesses, specifically those on Main Street St. Charles. Inside, invited audience members listened to his speech while outside, people from either side of the political spectrum protested.

This event was live-tweeted by FHC Publications on @FHCToday and livestreamed on Instagram, @fhctoday

Trump speaks in St. Charles

The president’s speech lead to demonstrations of passion both inside and outside the Convention Center

“No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!”

Those entering the Convention Center in St. Charles on Nov. 29 were greeted by the chants of protesters gathered on the street outside, wielding American flags and homemade signs as they continue chanting to the beat of a single drum. “Liar!” their signs read, “Impeach Trump!” “Black Lives Matter.” Only a few feet away, the signs change drastically to the Trump and Pence campaign signs held under American flags colored blue for the Blue Lives Matter movement. Regardless of which side they are there to support, however, they all anticipate the same event: the arrival of President Donald Trump later that afternoon to give a speech on tax cuts.

Grace Roberts
Protesters wield signs reading “Liar” and “Make America Great Again”. Protesters on both sides began gathering before noon and remained outside until the president spoke.

Police guard every side entrance to the Convention Center, with emergency vehicles – both police cars and ambulances – sitting in the parking lots nearby. Inside, Secret Service, dressed in all black, stand by the doors, checking bags and waving metal detectors over everyone who enters. They work hurriedly, attempting to get everyone through while still doing a thorough job of checking for weapons.

Inside the hall itself, as of around 12:30 pm, the seats and risers surrounding the podium are mostly empty, save for a few people who have already arrived. The press section, however, is bustling with activity as reporters set up laptops, figure out which angles will be best for their bulky camera equipment, and mingle with each other. For many, this is not a particularly exciting event; they’ve covered every presidential speech for the past 30 years. They reside behind barriers separating the press from the guests, who were all handpicked to be invited to this event. Rows upon rows of seats are surrounded by risers on either side, all facing a stage in the center of the room. Onstage, the podium sits in the center of two flags and Christmas trees, set symmetrically to each other, as well as a giant red sign on either side proclaiming “Merry Christmas!” As of now, the podium is empty along with the majority of the seats. Slowly, guests begin to trickle in, finding their places in the hall.

Outside, the crowds of protesters are growing larger much more quickly, adding another group further down the road, barely visible from those set up directly in front of the building where President Trump will soon be.

Eventually, riot police arrive to clear the streets, and the protesters oblige, choosing a side of the street to stand on, where they gather on the curb to continue chanting, now confined to the sidewalk and adjoining grass by police officers in riot gear. “Why are you in riot gear? I don’t see no riot here!” they shout before once again taking up the same chants as earlier. Both sides are together now, though they appear to exist relatively peacefully – no fights, no violence, no arrests. The crowd consists of all ages of people, from teenagers to women holding signs with oxygen tubes in their nostrils, and it is probably half people of color – a stark contrast to the ballroom, which is filling up with a crowd of primarily older white people. Regardless, they are all waiting – waiting for the President to arrive to deliver his speech.

Grace Roberts
The podium sits empty, awaiting President Trump’s arrival. Surrounding the stage, audience members found their seats in anticipation of the fast-approaching speech.

The anticipation builds both inside and outside as the time ticks closer and closer to the President’s arrival. Outside, the protesters wait for the motorcade while the guests inside listen to a playlist that switches from Adele to Elton John to Aerosmith. Eventually, the last chords to “Hey, Jude” by the Beatles plays and the music disappears, replaced by a voice on a microphone announcing:

“Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.”

The audience stands, raising their cell phones over their heads to capture President Trump as he enters through a blue curtain, waving as he approaches the podium.

“I told you we’d be saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again!” he proclaims into the microphone, and the crowd cheers. House of Representatives member Kathy Conway revels in seeing the President speak live for the first time, noting how unique it is from watching him on TV.

“I found that he is much warmer and personable than he can sometimes come across on TV,” she said.

Grace Roberts
President Trump begins his speech. His first sentiment was a nod towards Christmas, indicating the surrounding “Merry Christmas” banners.

For the next 40 minutes, he waves his hands in his signature way as he discusses tax cuts for the small businesses of Main Street St. Charles as well as his own accomplishments as president over the past 10 months, all to the enthusiastic cheers to the crowd as he mentions building up the military, building the wall, or creating jobs, and choruses of boos as he discussed Claire McCaskill, Democrats, and, of course, the press – or the “fake news” – standing in the back of the room. The crowd follows his every word, applauding enthusiastically, waving “Make America Great Again” baseball caps and cowboy hats in the air. Conway applauds alongside those surrounding her, partaking in their excitement.

“There was a real energy in the room,” she said. “This was a group hungry to hear their thoughts and opinions expressed and it was clear they appreciated his comments. It was a very respectful and enthusiastic crowd.”

To the accompaniment of the cheers of the crowd, President Trump finishes his speech with a flourish, once again shouting, “I told you we’d be saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again, and we are! And this year for Christmas, we’re getting tax cuts!”

The crowd went wild, shouting as he waved and stepped off the stage to greet friends in the audience before leaving the room entirely, leaving the audience audience to begin funneling out of the seats through the single door open for them.

Outside, the protest had died down, no longer awaiting his arrival. The Convention Center quickly returned to its normal state, full of people milling around, the Secret Service and multitudes of police officers gone, the ballroom with its blue curtains and American flag decorations empty once again, the decorations the only evidence the president had been there that day.

Words of President embolden Missourian supporters

The President of the United States speaks in St. Charles over tax reform and future plans

Grace Roberts

President Donald Trump delivers a speech at the St. Charles Convention Center. Here, he discussed tax cuts and small businesses to an enthusiastic crowd.

In an afternoon rally held Wednesday Nov. 29 advocating for his administration’s major proposed tax reform legislation, as well as future plans, President Donald Trump stumped to a passionate handpicked crowd of working-class Missourians, referencing large cuts to both their and corporate-level taxes. The speech, held at the St. Charles Convention Center, focused mainly on the proposed tax cuts to middle and working-class citizens, the recent quarterly U.S. economic growth exceeding three percent, and the economic benefits of more competitive corporate tax rates.

President Trump also spent time pandering to his audience with well-known slogans, “America First,” “Buy American Sell American,” and “Make America Great Again,” with considerable time also spent promising evangelical voters “Merry Christmas” would be used instead of “Happy Holidays.” He promised the eventual creation of his proposed border wall reinforcement, as well as the eventual success of numerous-failed attempts at “repeal and replace”  health care reform in Congress. The “fake news media” was referenced during his speech, at which time the crowd turned and booed.

While the proposed corporate tax drops from 35 percent to 20 percent, and working and middle-class individuals would get significant cuts to their dues (first $12,000 individual income non-taxable, first $24,000 married), critics like Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) have raised concerns on the raising of the national debt, the benefit to wealthy Americans, and the repeal of the individual health insurance mandate passed by the previous Obama Administration. She released this statement in response today:

 

“What I said to President Trump when we sat down together is still true today — I’m eager to support real, bipartisan tax reform. I’d jump at the chance to support a plan to deliver relief to Missouri’s working families, simplify the tax code, close loopholes exploited by the rich, and lower the corporate tax rate. Unfortunately, this tax plan doesn’t live up the commitment I got from President Trump, when he told me he wouldn’t support tax reform that benefited the very rich at the expense of the little guy. The Republican-drafted tax plan would further complicate the tax code, keep open those loopholes, deepen the national debt, and give the vast majority of benefits to millionaires and billionaires, while working families get hurt. But if Republican leaders decide to start fresh, with a real bipartisan approach, I’m ready to get to work and I believe we could get it done.”

 

According to Missouri State Treasurer Eric Schmitt (R), however, what the bill promises will have tangible benefits to the nation’s (and Missouri’s) economy.

“I think there’s a lot still to be worked out [with the bill],” Mr. Schmitt said. “What we know is that anytime you’ve had broad-based tax relief, whether it was Ronald Reagan or John F. Kennedy before that, you’ve seen an expansion in the economy. If you’ve been seeing over three percent growth, that’s really the way forward; that’s where you see more jobs, more taxpayers, and quite frankly more revenue.”

Flanking Mr. Schmitt during the speech were multiple members of Missouri’s Congressional representation in Washington – Billy Long (R-MO 7th District), Ann Wagner (R-MO 2nd District), and Jason Smith (R-MO 8th District) – as well as Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, and various members of state and local government.

“These opportunities don’t come around all that often, and we hope that Congress hears the people, the energy in this room,” Mr. Schmitt said. “That’s the secret sauce, and if they can get it right, it can be a big opportunity and more opportunity for working Missourians.”

The tax reform legislation, after passing both the House of Representatives and the Senate Budget Committee, stands for a final vote by the full Senate, a vote in which Republicans need three party holdouts to stand in affirmation. Following negotiations held Tuesday, two of the three Senators are leaning positively toward the bill.

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