By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
President Donald Trump was making another stop in Kansas, then he was not. Then Friday morning, his staff announced he would be attending another rally in Salina, this time on Sunday, not on Halloween, as earlier advertised. Given the scope of a presidential visit, the change in plans caused some chaos, including for those who wished to attend. Tiffany and Melissa Ford, twin sisters who live east of Ellinwood, could not be deterred.
“I was super disappointed and bummed because I really wanted to see our president,” Tiffany said of the original cancellation. “I didn’t know if I’d ever get another chance.”
The Tony’s Pizza Events Center may have been an obvious choice for a presidential rally, but the facility was booked with state volleyball tournaments on Saturday. The original rally was scheduled for Hangar 509 at the Salina Regional Airport, and that's where it remained Sunday. Melissa secured the original tickets and had to reapply for the new date. Parties could request up to four tickets.
“After I verified the code they texted me, they asked for the name, e-mail, and phone number for the additional attendees as well,” Melissa said. “At the rally, no one ever asked for the tickets or an ID.”
Then it was time for the show. Melissa arrived at the airport at approximately 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning, and Tiffany followed at 9:30. After a considerable walk, they joined the throng of people waiting to get inside. As it turns out, the push to secure tickets was all for naught.
“They didn’t even check them,” said Tiffany. “You didn’t even need a ticket. You went through all the security, and I had my bar code out. Maybe it was just to judge how many people were coming.”
Security was as to be expected for a presidential visit. Bomb-sniffing dogs patrolled the crowd. Attendees had their bags and persons searched, and they went through the requisite metal detectors and wand checks. Parts of it felt like a standard crowd situation, while others did not.
“There were snipers on the walls,” Tiffany said. “They had the police, sheriff, Kansas Highway Patrol, and the Secret Service there. You couldn’t not feel secure.”
The event was scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m., but the first of a slate of speakers began shortly before that. Speakers included U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, Kansas gubernatorial candidate Ty Masterson, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Even with an appearance by the president looming, Tiffany said the crowd’s interest never waned.
“A lot of people were into what they were saying,” she said. “I especially liked (Kansas Attorney General) Kris Kobach because he’s friends with several of my friends, and I was excited to hear what he had to say.”
Roughly an hour passed between the final scheduled speaker and the arrival of President Trump. The crowd was kept entertained with a stream of the Kansas City Chiefs game. As Air Force One neared, radio traffic with the famous plane was played for the crowd.
“You could see Air Force One do a really cool fly around before it came down,” Tiffany said. “Everyone was super excited.”
Concessions were available, as were restrooms, with some stipulations.
“You could until the president was going to arrive – and they should have made that announcement,” said Tiffany. “Melissa went to use the bathroom, and she was greeted by some people by the barricades. They said she could, but she would not be allowed to re-enter. You could stay in the area, but she wouldn’t be allowed back into the seating.”
Then it was time for the president’s speech. Tiffany and Melissa were seated approximately 20 feet away in the second row. The security remained impressive.
“There were at least, I counted 15 different agents, just right there in the middle and all around,” Tiffany said. “There was this one dude, he had been there the entire event. We called him ‘The Owl,’ like a sentry, because he would just stand there and slowly survey everything. Then he’d move to another place and slowly look back and forth. You couldn’t make him grin. We tried a few times.”
Beyond the speeches, the Fords came away with a few other takeaways. Various outlets have estimated a crowd of 6,000 people at Sunday’s rally. The sisters were impressed with the people they encountered.
“I thought it was neat how polite everybody was,” she said. “I’ve been to other crowds and they’re just rude. There were thousands of people and everyone you talked to was so polite. They would even give up their spot in line for the bathroom.”
"I was surprised at how quickly we made friends at the rally," Melissa said. "While walking to the hangar, we fell in step with a bee-keeping couple named Connie and Mo. Connie immediately let me know she had brought enough snacks to share. At the line, there were only three others waiting: a man who moved here from Germany just three months ago named Melvin, a Chinese woman who went by Loraine, and her husband. Later, we were joined by Genie, a lady who was born and raised in California, but had recently moved to Nebraska and drove from there to the rally. Genie had been living in California in 2020 and drove to D.C. for the Jan. 6 rally as well. We were also joined by a Marine named Gerry, who had served for 14 years. We all shared chairs and spent the next seven hours just chatting, eating snacks, and hanging out. Even inside the rally, some of our group sat behind us, and at one point, a local who had joined the group later on squeezed my arm and exclaimed, "Can you believe this is Salina!?" Afterwards, Connie met us in the parking lot and hugged us good bye."
Trump took the stage at approximately 8:22 p.m., and spoke for roughly 90 minutes. The goal of Sunday’s rally, and a similar rally held in Park city on Oct. 19, was to garner support for Republican candidates ahead of today’s general election. Polls show Marshall and Democratic Challenger Adam Hamilton in a near-even race for the U.S. Senate seat. Kansas has not elected a Democratic candidate for that position since 1932.