Trump holds a raucous rally in Bernie Sanders country

Presidential hopeful Donald Trump did nothing to distinguished himself as a concerned leader of the American people tonight, when he directed his security guards to not only “throw out” protesters from his campaign rally, but to “confiscate” their coats. “I think we’ve shown we can police an event with thousands of people on both sides of the debate.” said Chief del Pozo.

“It’s not what I expected”, said Linnebur, who is supporting Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, but noted there was nothing on his ticket that said he had to support Trump.

To whittle down the crowd, rally-goers with tickets in hand who’d waited for hours in the cold were asked as they entered the venue whether or not they supported Trump.

Trump said he could likely reason with any of his hecklers, “unless they have a substance-abuse problem – which is probably there”. One of the more amusing moments being shown in a loop on cable news today came when Trump yelled for one protester to be removed and told his security people that they could keep his coat.

Trump’s rally made headlines Wednesday night after local law enforcement and Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger released statements of concern for Trump’s hugely oversold rally. “I hope his presence here will help him better understand Vermont values – social and economic justice, tolerance, respect for all people and the environment”. Trump seemed to grow more angry with each disruption.

Trump’s rally was scheduled for the same time as President Barack Obama’s televised town hall on gun violence in America, and he also broached the topic.

“I don’t want to see my grandchildren with something like that”. He created chaos in Bernie Sanders’ backyard yesterday; he brought chaos into Hillary Clinton’s campaign, raising an issue (Bill Clinton’s past with women) that few had been willing to touch in quite some time; he introduced chaos for Ted Cruz, knocking the Texas senator off message with the “birther” issue for multiple days; and he’s produced chaos within the entire Republican Party over the last six months.

“Who’s not going to pay for the wall?”

“I think we would stand a chance of beating him by more”, Sanders told his supporters last night. I know he does. She loves Donald Trump, and the interruptions from the protesters didn’t ruin it for her. “In a weird way it just makes it more commanding and more-stronger, and seeing people voicing their opinion”.

Supporters lined up hours ahead of time to get in.

Inside, the scene was often rowdy, with the crowd cheering wildly when Trump repeated his vow to build a wall on the border with Mexico. “His coalition is not all angry working white males”, said one Republican pollster. Instead, Trump continued to sign autographs for supporters, ignoring CNN’s questions. Beats me. If you are thinking about voting for Trump, I guess that is something you will have to decide.

The people who came to see Trump ranged from teenagers to retirees.

In 2000, when Trump advanced the notion of a Reform Party presidential campaign, he shared his desire to ban all “assault weapons” while increasing the waiting period required for purchasing a firearm. They are anxious their kids can’t afford to go to college.

Trump is very clearly focusing the bulk of his comments on what many view as an absurd policy of not allowing military service personnel to carry weapons on military bases.