Trump rallies at Georgia Tech for student, community support
With one week left until the election, the Trump campaign is focusing on Georgia, a key swing state. Former President Donald Trump spoke at a rally on Tuesday in McCamish Pavilion at Georgia Tech, only a mile from Midtown High School.
Around 9,000 Georgia Tech students and Trump supporters crowded into the arena to see the former president speak. Dhruv Shrivastava, a student who isn’t currently planning to vote, attended the rally to learn more about Trump’s campaign.
“As a student, it’s super cool to go see this,” Shrivastava said. “I’m not supporting either candidate right now, but it’s a great opportunity to go see this. He might bring out some really cool people, too, so I feel like it’s a really nice learning event.”
Shrivastava said he doesn’t know much about either candidate yet and hopes to learn more from seeing Trump speak.
“Right now, I’m not leaning toward either side, but this could definitely influence my decision,” Shrivastava said. “I haven’t really done enough research and right now, both candidates aren’t really speaking to me.”
Georgia Tech senior Ben Skopick attended the rally and conversely believes that this rally will have little influence on voters in Atlanta so close to the election.
“I mostly have based my decision for this election by conversation I have had so far,” Skopick said. “I think if you are at a rally already, the content shared there is not going to have a huge effect on you.”
Trump supporter Katie Goslee who attended the rally believes that events that draw in large crowds should inspire people to look into each candidate.
“When they see these kinds of crowds supporting Trump and Vance it gives them an incentive to do research,” Goslee said. “That person needs to do their due diligence; if you look at both sides, I think that a person that is undecided hasn’t bothered to look.”
The rally made national headlines including NPR, PBS and USA Today and more, placing Midtown Atlanta on the national stage. Similarly to many Trump supporters, attendee Jay Kong believes, similarly to many Trump supporters, that Trump’s words can often be taken out of context and warns voters to look for the full story, not just what the news sells.
“Really give both sides a chance, just listen to [their] speeches in their entirety,” Kong said. “Don’t let people cut snippets, [don’t] let them phrase it for you. Actually listen to the entirety [of the speech.]”
Skopick said that the magnitude of this event on campus has stirred emotions in the Georgia Tech student body.
“From what I have heard, I think everyone is either anxious or excited,” Skopick said. “The sheer size of this event at Georgia Tech is really cool, but people are anxious at the same time of it being on-campus with so many people.”
Tanuj Dunthuluri, a Georgia Tech student who attended the rally, said voters should base their decisions on conversations and research instead of just voting by party.
“Reflect on your values, read about it online, talk with other people, and then think who more greatly embodies my values,” Dunthuluri said. “Who really embodies the values of caring about others, of being honest and truthful, and who would be a better representative of your party.”
In his speech, Trump discussed several front-and-center issues in his supporters’ minds, including border policy and inflation. He asked the audience to compare their lives now to how they were four years ago, at the end of his first term.
Goslee recalls prices under Trump’s policies, which had substantially lower inflation rates, and said this is a hopeful indicator for economic prosperity during a second Trump presidency.
“His past shows us exactly what he could do,” Goslee said. “The inflation rate has just skyrocketed. I used to be able to buy groceries for under 100 dollars, and now it is close to 125.”
Kong believes the most important issue going into the election is foreign policy. Foreign policy is a category where Trump is polling ahead of Harris, as his policy has more strictly closed borders, which is popular among Americans.
“The first and second amendment are very important to me, as well as our foreign policy,” Kong said. “I feel like a lot of the issues we talk about, they matter, but nothing matters now [more] than foreign policy. Especially with the way that we interact with other countries overseas, like China and what we’re doing in Israel [and] Russia.”
Georgia Tech Student Chako Abhram thinks that attending a Trump rally is beneficial, even for Democratic voters.
“No matter which side you’re on, it’s just good to see what one side of the country has to offer and what Trump has to say,” Abhram said.
Fairlie Mercer is a junior and this is her second year writing for the Southerner. She currently writes for comment and is excited for her first year as an editor. Outside of journalism she enjoys hanging out with friends and dance.
