Yesterday, Nov 5, 2022, I went to the Latrobe Airport to experience the Trump, Mastriano, Oz save America rally. I waited in line for 3 hours until I got to the metal detectors and the Secret Service. Reporters from Japan, UK, France and other countries were there to cover the event.
As you can see in the above video, I met a Hasidic Jewish man named Yoel Friedman who was passing out literature promoting his website KJMafia (his title not mine). Also, I met a woman from Armstrong County who was demanding that those detained for their roles in the January 6 plot be released from prison on bail. I timidly asked her if those convicted should be in jail. She emphatically said for what. Timidly, I said vandalism. I did not see a lot of QAnon signs at the rally. I asked one of the men standing next to me about QAnon and he said “What is QAnon?” I was not looking to be confrontational at the rally.
As I’m watching a 60 minutes story about how posts with more inflammatory rhetoric get more likes on social media. This is not one of those posts. I was there simply to observe and not to embarrass anyone. I recorded the speeches in the crowd to get a better feel for their reaction to the speakers.
Firstly the speakers were Congressmen Glenn Thompson and John Joyce followed by Lt Gov candidate Carrie Del Rosso. State Senator Doug Mastriano and his wife followed them in the third place with the usual Republican talking points. It then started to rain with the sun out at the right angle to create a rainbow as you can see in the second video.
Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz gave a brief speech after the rain ended. He did not go after Lt. Gov. John Fetterman for his stroke. However, he did use his usual talking points. Another 40 minute pause came before the guest of honor, Former President Donald Trump, arrived.
Before Trump arrived, we saw a video mocking all NY Attorney General Letitia James lawsuit of the Trump organization (but not the Jan 6th committee). Excitement was high as the crowd was correspondingly anticipating his arrival. He made a grand entrance with his jumbo jet as can be seen in the above video. I could only record two minutes of his speech because my battery ran out. You can see his speech in its entirety on C-Span. Then, I went to the parking lot to get a head start on the upcoming traffic jam. I had had enough of my experience of the Trump rally. Most of the people there were evidently normal.