Grim Reaper with COVID death numbers listens to Secret Service before Trump motorcade arrives.
Trump visited his nearest golf club again in what is usually a quiet neighborhood in Sterling, Virginia. He came on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, bringing his numbers to 265 golf outings and the 90th time to play at this location.
Like yesterday, there were a handful of protesters in the morning and a much larger crowd of protesters and supporters at Trump’s departure. Cheryl Boylen, White House pool reporter, observed much the same, reporting at 9:05 a.m. “Fewer than 10 protesters were gathered at the entrance of the club holding signs, one dressed in black as the grim reaper.”
In her afternoon report, she estimated “a few dozen” supporters and protesters on either side of the street. While she accurately describes the largely peaceful demonstration, the presence of Jeeps with Trump flags driving up and down the street, and the presence of Loudoun Country Sherrif officers, she did not mention that Trump supporters were not wearing masks and that they brought a number of children with them to emulate their boisterous behavior.
This is a better depiction of what things looked like today in this mostly quiet neighborhood:
Trump protesters are marking more than three years of consistent protest at this location. However, the noise level and crowd sizes have exploded in the last 4-6 weeks as Trump supporters began to show up starting mid-June. This tracks with Trump’s failed Tulsa re-election launch, followed by the shot of patriotism from his Independence Day celebrations. It also tracks with the rise of Black Lives Matter protests both locally and nationally and the authoritarian turn toward the use of tear gas on protesters in DC and uninvited Federal Troops in cities like Portland and Seattle. This also matches the politicization of mask-wearing during the pandemic and the push to re-open businesses and schools.
This sudden outpouring of free speech at this location has shocked the neighborhood as residents come to learn not just the political leanings of people they know, but to hear for themselves some shocking statements. Usually, this means that families out with children will stay away from the area during protests. So it was unusual to see Trumpers actively bring children to this event and encourage them to join in off-color chants like “Democrats are the party of the KKK” or outright calling Black Lives Matter supporters racist.
At the same time, the children had posters that said innocuous, even innocent things like “My President Saves Animals” or “Honk for Trump” amid the illogical chatter concerning COVID and Re-Opening of America.
Local law enforcement has also been involved as neighbors call to complain. Yesterday officers followed a complaint about graffiti, which turned out to just be chalk writing in the street. Officers came to take pictures, speak with protesters, and the complainant. Today, a neighbor complained again about the Jeeps driving making U-turns on the sidestreets. Although upsetting, it also was not illegal. In both cases, officers spoke with the residents and with the people against whom complaints were lodged. They have remained professionally neutral and protesters have for the most part cooperated peacefully. Today, while a Trump supporter was being questioned by officers, some of those organizers spoke to each other away from the sheriffs calling the incident “a badge of honor.”
I spoke with another resident near the scene with a daughter home from college. They were surprised at how many people they recognized on both sides of the street. The daughter held up a sign about Trump and fascism but was reluctant to venture much farther away from where her own backyard met the public sidewalk, despite her father encouraging her to show her sign to the Trumpers 20 or so feet away from her yard. When the father left, she confided in me that she was home from college in New England, and half-jokingly told her parents she wasn’t going to return from college again. “I was so embarrassed to come home here and see this going on.”
And after the Trump motorcade left, there was still this:
It’s somewhat predictable that things would heat up with the summer and with a presidential election campaign. The pandemic, economic downturn, and uncertainty about schools also add to the frustration. It used to be a much smaller gathering where protesters would spend less than an hour outside the golf course for a few cathartic seconds to vent at the passing motorcade. Sometimes there were other hassles from more aggressive Secret Service pushing people back from the curb or club management turning sprinklers on protesters, but this is altogether different.
Trump supporters are being festooned with a larder of campaign swag. The motorcade has paused on more than one occasion during these departures for Trump to wave or give a thumbs-up to his gathered supporters, rather than speeding away. But while both sides wait for that motorcade, the crowds have grown bigger and louder.
Things have certainly changed in this neighborhood.
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