U.S. President Donald J. Trump wowed the crowd at the Show Me Center on a rainy election eve Monday, Nov. 5.
Many loyal Republicans stood outside for hours in a drizzling rain to get a chance to see the president. The arena was packed to the rafters, and those who arrived too late to get a seat in the stands or a place to stand on the main floor watched the rally on a big screen in an overflow room.
“There is no place I would rather be for the last stop of this campaign than right here in Missouri,” Trump said.
As he stumped for U.S. Senate Candidate Josh Hawley, the president gave a message of hope, recounting the achievements of his time in office.
“In less than two years, we have accomplished more than anyone could have ever imagined,” he said. “Ameri-ca’s startling comeback is the envy of the whole world. We’re the hottest nation in the world. … We’re doing well, and we’re doing well with everything, frankly.”
Trump said when he runs again in 2020, he will need a new slogan. “Make America Great” will no longer be applicable. The new slogan will be “Keep America Great.”
His administration’s economic policies added 250,000 jobs last month alone, he said. “The unemployment rate is at its lowest level in more than 50 years. We’ve created 4.5 million new jobs since election day, and we have lifted 4.3 million Americans off of food stamps. African American, Hispanic and Asian American unemployment have all reached their lowest levels in history,” he continued.
“Democrats produce mobs. That’s what is happening. Republicans produce jobs.”
Last month alone, the U.S. added 32,000 manufacturing jobs. These were jobs the previous administration had said were not coming back. Trump replaced the “horrible” NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) with a new, better agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada, which, he said, “is a giant victory for Missouri farmers.”
He added that if you love your children and want to leave them your farm or other valuables, his administration has done away with the “death tax” or estate tax.
“After years of rebuilding other countries, we are finally rebuilding our country,” he said. And it’s being done with American steel and American aluminum, thanks to tariffs and tough trade negotiations.
“We’re taking steps to reduce the price of prescription drugs,” Trump continued. “It’s happening.”
A new Missouri health insurance plan is being offered that will cost 71 percent less than “the horrible Obamacare disaster,” he said.
Trump mentioned his signing of a landmark bill on June 6 that replaced the troubled Veterans Choice Program and expanded health care options for veterans. The law reformed and consolidated Veterans Choice and other existing programs into a single Veterans Community Care Program. The bottom line for veterans is that they can go to a private doctor for care instead of waiting to get into a veterans hospital.
“We secured $716 billion to fully rebuild the U.S. military which had become so depleted, and we buy everything right here in the good ol’ U.S.A.,” Trump said. And it’s not just weapons. “We gave our great warriors their largest pay raise in a decade,” he added.
Trump has authorized the creation of a sixth branch of the military, a space force.
He recognized the capital of Israel as Jerusalem and opened an embassy there, something the Israelis have wanted for years. “We did it, and that’s a big thing,” Trump stated.
The president warned what will happen if Democrats take control of the government. There will be a “socialist takeover of American healthcare,” he predicted. “The Democrat plan will obliterate Obamacare but leave the bad parts behind. It will destroy Medicare.”
The plan will eliminate Medicare Advantage for 411,000 seniors and Medicare will be raided to fund benefits for illegal aliens, he added.
The Democrats want a “catch and release” program for illegal immigrants. They support “totally open borders, which means crime will pour into our country,” Trump said. Nearly 100 percent of heroin and 90 percent of cocaine enters our country through its southern border.
ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents arrested 127,000 illegal immigrants who had criminal records. “Despite that, Democrats want to abolish ICE,” Trump said.
Trump was moved by the cheers and support he received from this crowd, as well as from those he has received at other rallies. “This is the greatest political movement in the history of our country.”
Trump said voters have elected a government that finally puts America first, and has a government and a president that is loyal and faithful to them.
“We are standing up for you now. We are standing up for Missouri. And we are proudly standing up for our great National Anthem.
“I am asking every citizen fro every party, every background, every race, color and creed to reject the Democrat politics of anger, division destruction, and to unite behind our proud, noble and righteous destiny as Americans. I need you to get your family, get your friends, get your neighbors, get your coworkers and go out and vote for [a] Republican Congress or [a] republican Senate. Go out and vote Republican tomorrow.”
This was the fourth time a sitting president visited Cape Girardeau. Bill Clinton spoke at Capaha Park in 1996, Ronald Reagan spoke at the Show Me Center in 1988 and William Howard Taft spoke on the steps of Academic Hall in 1909.
U.S. Rep. Jason Smith said he was 8 years old when the last Republican president came here 30 years ago. He quoted some of the things Reagan had said about Democrats in 1988 and asked, “Boy, things haven’t changed much, have they?”
Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, a Cape Girardeau native, introduced the president. “It’s electric in here, folks!” he said as the crowd raised the roof with a welcoming cheer.
Contrasting Trump’s popularity with that of Democrat leaders, Limbaugh stated, “[Former Vice President] Joe Biden can’t fill a phone booth.” He said of Trump, “There is no other politician who has a connection [with the audience] like this. … Donald Trump wants America to be great again, and it’s not a slogan. It’s an objective.”
Limbaugh said Trump believes America is heading in the wrong direction and he needs to set it back on the right track. “It has to do with culture. It has to do with protecting and defending the Constitution.”
Limbaugh told the crowd, “The real anger at Trump is aimed at you for having elected him.”
Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, told the crowd, “Hi, Missouri. We love you and we are fighting for you every single day.”
Radio and TV commentator Sean Hannity mingled with the crowd and signed autographs before recording a segment for television as the crowd waited for the program to begin at 9 p.m.
Hannity and TV personality Jeanine Pirro (from Fox News Channel’s “Justice with Judge Jeanine”) were later brought on stage by Trump.
Trump took the stage about 9:20 and spoke until 11 p.m., occasionally introducing other guests for brief comments. His speech was interrupted briefly as paramedics attended to a medical emergency in the crowd and removed a woman on a stretcher.
The president told the paramedics to take as much time as they needed. Members of the crowd shouted encouraging comments to the president during this pause. One section of audience prayed the Lord’s Prayer in unison, and then nearly the entire audience started singing “Amazing Grace,” receiving praise from the president for their concern.
Other guests who made appearances on stage included Missouri Gov. Mike Parson; Missouri Attorney General and U.S. Senate Candidate Josh Hawley (who criticized the voting record of his opponent Claire McCaskill); White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders; Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president; and Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee.
