Trump tries to connect 'deplorables' and working class in N.C. rally
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Donald Trump worked to create a connection between Hillary Clinton's basket of deplorables and the working class Monday night, telling a North Carolina crowd they were the ones who had been slighted by her remarks.
“She talks about people like they’re objects, not human beings," Trump told an estimated 7,000 people gathered at the U.S. Cellular Center. "She said half of our supporters are irredeemable and not American. The great majority of this country now sees right through these lies and deceptions of a failed political establishment.”
At a campaign stop here by the Republican presidential nominee, race was on everyone's mind. The candidate took up the topic as he responded to Clinton's Friday statement that Trump supporters are "racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic — you name it.”
At a New York fundraiser, the Democratic nominee for president called Trump supporters a "basket of deplorables."
“While my opponent slanders you as deplorable and irredeemable, I call you hard-working American patriots who want a better country," Trump told the Asheville crowd. “Every American is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect in our country. Whether you vote for me or whether you vote for someone else, I will be your champion in the White House.”
Nearly a dozen Trump supporters, who did not provide their names, joined him on stage to say they are not deplorables. They included a preacher, a working mother and former school principal. They did not identify themselves by name.
Earlier, hundreds of people stared down the barricades that created a path into the arena Monday afternoon. They yelled, holding signs and screaming, "Bigot," and "Racist" as Trump rally attendees walked past.
Outside the arena, Courtney Davis couldn't have known how much the candidate's words would sound like her own. Two hours before Trump began speaking, Davis clustered on the sidewalk with several other freshmen who live in University of North Carolina-Asheville's Social Justice dorm.
"I believe in equality, and I believe everyone should be able to live comfortably in our country," she said.
Not all protesters were so equanimous. Diane Matsumoto echoed Clinton's disparagement of Trump supporters.
"We're teachers, and it's like looking at one big failed IQ test, and it makes me speechless — and in need of therapy," she said.
Matsumoto sneaked into a George Wallace campaign event in 1968 to protest against the proud segregationist, but she said Trump's rhetoric worries her more than Wallace's did.
Isaac Herrin, a volunteer for the Trump campaign and a junior at Western Carolina University, said he thinks protesters are exaggerating.
"The word racist, it's overused in this campaign," he said as he escorted rally attendees through the barricades lined by protesters. "I've seen a lot of people who are very sensitive about (being called a racist), but overall, the people knew it was going to be here."
As Herrin worked the barricades, he cried out, "Do not respond to the angry mob," and his voice carried beyond the barricaded protesters and into Haywood Street.
It seemed everyone was yelling something, but in a rare quiet moment, an Asheville Police Department officer, Sarah McGhee, quietly told a spectator, "Thank you for being peaceful."
Nearby, Suzanne Wyckoff said the police presence has been "awesome." The U.S. Secret Service was in charge of the event, but Asheville Police Department officers working with the Secret Service were the main law enforcement presence.
Dozens of officers stood stoically among protesters.
Christina Hallingse, public information officer for the Asheville Police Department, said there had been no major incidents as of 6 p.m. ET, when the rally inside the arena began.
Earlier in the afternoon, APD confiscated a firearm from someone outside the arena, Hallingse said.
Nathan West, chairman of the Buncombe County GOP, said he had witnessed one physical altercation between a protester and an attendee that was broken up by police.
Hallingse said she didn't have information about that incident.
Inside the rally, Secret Service patrolled the crowd, casting a dubious eye on a protester with a laundry basket on his head. Later, agents escorted several protesters out of the venue.
As Trump spoke, protesters shouted, "Your ties are made in China," and "We're running out of oil."
The candidate was not ruffled by the heckling.
The event lasted for approximately 40 minutes and included an appearance by former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Follow Emily Patrick on Twitter: @eepatrick