‘Cincinnati Enquirer’ Asks Donald Trump & Supporters Not To Turn The City Into ‘An Embarrassment’ Before Rally
Donald Trump will be holding a rally in Cincinnati on Thursday, and the city’s main newspaper, The Cincinnati Enquirer, has penned an editorial begging Trump supporters and counter-protesters to behave themselves at the rally and not turn the city into an “embarrassment.”
Donald Trump rallies have descended into violence before, reports The Los Angeles Times, with the opposing sides sometimes engaging in fisticuffs, or as was the case in San José recently, vandalism. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti acknowledged that Donald Trump’s presidency stirs strong emotions on both sides.
Recently, however, there’s been a new development. At a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, the crowd burst into chants of “Send her back!”, referring to their desire to see Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar “sent back” to her native Somalia. Days earlier, Trump had tweeted that Omar and a handful of her colleagues should “go back to their broken and crime-infested countries.” As USA Today reports, some in Greenville are ashamed that their city is now associated with the chant.
The Enquirer doesn’t want The Queen City to join the ranks of Greenville and San José as cities that have been the scene of ugly behavior by either Trump supporters, Trump detractors, or both.
Wow. There is nothing like a #Cincinnati sunrise ? pic.twitter.com/SjGYIPR3Yl
— Alexis Rogers (@IAmAlexisRogers) August 1, 2019
“We’re asking you, Mr. President, your supporters and your detractors to set a new example for presidential visits. Setting an example not only includes people at the rally or protesting it, but those commenting about it on social media,” the paper’s op-ed board writes.
The board goes on to write that if Cincinnati sets a good example, perhaps the rest of the country will follow suit, and other cities won’t be the scene of ugly incidents.
The paper suggests some ways in which Trump and his supporters could see to it that the rally doesn’t turn ugly. For example, rather than focusing on the urban blight that plagues Cincinnati, as Trump recently did with Baltimore, Trump could address urban renewal.
“The people of the Cincinnati region would appreciate hearing the specifics of the president’s plan to address urban renewal. We would covet his insight on how to attract more businesses and investment to urban areas without displacing black, brown and, yes, white residents who call those places home,” the paper writes.
Meanwhile, the city is preparing for Trump as best it can, reports WLWT-TV. So far, residents seem more concerned about traffic hang-ups and having to be rerouted around sections of the city on their evening commute than they are about potential embarrassment.
