Organized by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, the protesters displayed a mix of homemade signs (ex. “If Donald Trump is elected there will be hell toupee”) and signs by the Act Now to Stop War & End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition, which included an illustration of Trump’s face with the caption, “la cara del racismo” or “the face of racism”. A man with a megaphone led the chants, dressed in a suit, blonde wig, and bearing a long tree branch to represent Trump’s big stick policies, which was later used by protesters to take a few swings at the suited piñata spray-painted with Trump’s initials.
While an airplane bearing the scrolling slogan “Make America Great Again” flew above the crowds, around 6PM three students displayed a large banner on the Social Science building which read, “Think for yourself and question.” Additionally, during the rally itself a young black female protester was removed, the supporters booing her on her way out as Trump complained about how he believed the media was going to emphasize the protesters over the attendance, which broke the record set by Elton John in 1988.
The businessman has also faced criticism from the media for offensive statements made towards Muslims, Mexicans, women, and people with disabilities. Nikki Hudson, a USF student, cited Trump’s bigotry as her reason for protesting the rally:
“My main problems with Trump are the things that he says when he is addressing women, and the fact that he said we should ban Muslims,” she explained. “This is a country that was founded on freedom of religion, not on Christianity or any other particular religion and I think it is any Muslim’s right to be here. I don’t think he should show such hatred to refugees.”
Despite these numerous documented incidents, Trump is currently in the lead for the Republican nomination, having secured 36 delegates compared to the 13 held by Ted Cruz and the 1 held by Marco Rubio. In fact, Trump’s decidedly non-politically correct nature was the top trait favored at the USF rally. A supporter named Ann stated that she, “(likes) the fact that he’s not a professional politician.”
Recounting a visit to the Senate she said, “I was amazed, there were two senators and about fifty special interest people walking around…it was just pathetic. So they’re all on the take and it doesn’t matter what’s good for the country, it matters what’s good for them, for their companies.”
Terri Peavy, another supporter, believes that Trump’s business skills and lack of political filter are just what “this country needs to get off of playing the West Side Story up in Washington and…start getting down to business.”