NowKalamazoo sent five journalists to cover the visit by vice presidential candidate JD Vance on Friday, Nov. 1, documenting the experience from a Kalamazoo viewpoint for those not able – or wanting – to attend a visit from a presidential ticket member. We sent the same number of journalists to Vice President Harris’ visit to Kalamazoo six days earlier, an approach we explained here.
It was Sen. JD Vance’s second visit to west Michigan in a week, but Donald Trump’s running mate drew a private jet hangar full of supporters from around Michigan and Indiana on Friday, Nov. 1 – four days before Election Day.
It was a fly-in-and-out affair at the RAI Jets facility located on the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport compound in Portage. Vance spoke early Friday afternoon, then in North Carolina a few hours later, and Las Vegas on Saturday morning.
With a short visit on short notice, there wasn’t a lot of local flavor – pre-Vance speakers included national and local Republican Party elected officials and candidates – but the crowd of nearly 500 people heard the head of Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, Pastor Michael Brown, sing the national anthem.
A small contingent of pro-Harris protesters held signs outside on Portage Road, and one person was kicked out of the rally after shouting about Trump’s comments about Lynn Cheney.
The rally featured typical themes that energize the base – a variety of catchy t-shirts and hats; a garbage truck prominently next to the stage in the airplane hangar with a campaign banner, leaning into President Biden’s recent comment about Trump supporters; and frequent rallying cries about immigration policy that whipped up the crowd.
On the way to the rally
Due to security and a lack of on-site parking, both supporters and press parked at the airport and bused to the event. There was local law enforcement, U.S. Secret Service, and campaign and private security guiding attendees through.
When things got started
The rally opened with a prayer by Dan and Kelsey Smith, pastors at New Life Church in Portage. Steve Frisbie, who is running for state representative in Battle Creek, spoke and led the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by Brown, who is president and CEO of Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries.
State Rep. Matt Hall, of the 42nd District, and State Sen. Aric Nesbitt, 20th District, talked about flipping the state legislature.
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizinga, 4th District, who hosted Vance in Holland last Tuesday, was the final speaker before Vance arrived. He teased that maybe Trump would make a surprise visit – “he’s done it before,” he said.
“Who has already voted in early voting or absentee?” Huizinga asked the crowd, and a majority raised their hand.
JD Vance takes the stage
“How we doing, Michigan?” said Vance as he took the stage. He didn’t speak to the southwest Michigan constituency who had gathered, but rallied them nonetheless, especially with comments about immigration policy throughout his speech, and the crowd erupted in chants of “U.S.A.”
Despite frequent negative references to “the media” by Vance and other speakers, the crowd never turned hostile, even when individually declining to be interviewed.
Protester
At one point early into his speech, an attendee in the back began yelling about Trump’s comment at an event the night before in Arizona, which began as an attack against votes to send troops into war but ended with an intimation of a firing squad.
“Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face,” Trump said.
The protester had earlier told NowKalamazoo that he was a former Republican supporter but thought the rhetoric from the ticket was too dangerous. He was removed from the event without incident.
Merch
Of course, it wouldn’t be a rally in support of Former President Donald Trump without lots and lots of Trump merch.
