Donald Trump came to Monroe on Nov. 6, to promote Eddie Rispone in the upcoming gubernatorial election, which will take place on Nov. 16. Much excitement surrounded President Trump’s visit to our city. So much so that around 40,000 people registered for free tickets to the rally but only around 7,000 people got seats, leaving hundreds, if not thousands, of people waiting outside the Civic Center.
This rally was supposed to be informative to voters by explaining why Eddie Rispone would be a great Republican candidate for governor; however, many excited Trump supporters say it fell short because the rally seemed irrational and incohesive. I agree, and I don’t think it should have happened at all.
Trump gave falsified and dramatized information to voters to persuade them to vote Republican not only for the gubernatorial election, but also the presidential election. President Trump asserted that Louisiana has some of highest taxes in the United States. According to WalletHub, Louisiana is not even in the top 10 for highest taxes and falls toward the middle of all the states.
President Trump also explained that Louisiana ranked number one for highest car insurance prices. While Louisiana is not far from the top, according to Forbes, the highest car insurance prices are in Michigan.
Giving false statistics to voters vilifies the current administration in an effort to persuade voters to vote for Eddie Rispone.
Another reason the rally should not have taken place is because it seemed as though Trump had ulterior motives for coming to Monroe. He came to promote Rispone but failed to do so until almost halfway through the rally. He spoke of Ralph Abraham, his own impeachment proceedings and his re-election before even mentioning Rispone by name. This makes you question if President Trump was here to promote Rispone as a Republican candidate that he stands behind or just to promote his personal agenda and re-election in 2020.
Ouachita Parish has voted Republican for many years, not only in gubernatorial elections but also presidential. Trump knows that Monroe is a secured vote for Eddie Rispone, so it was a waste of time and taxpayer dollars for him to come to Monroe.
A rally is supposed to be used to inform voters of different candidate agendas and why they should be voted into office. A rally should not be used to distract voters by going on a tangent about impeachment or giving false information that is used to make voters feel as if they have to vote one way to see a change in their state.
If President Trump would have spent the majority of the hour and a half long rally talking about Eddie Rispone and the good things he could do for Louisiana, it would have been beneficial to Louisiana voters, but because he did not do this, the rally was uninformative and pointless.
To prevent rallies from going like this one in the future, Trump should start using more positive language toward the person he is promoting rather than trying to tear down the candidate he does not support. He also needs to give accurate information instead of saying whatever he wants.