Attired in red, white and blue, more than 70 people demonstrated their support for embattled former President Donald Trump on Saturday in Pahrump. As cars whizzed by the Pahrump Nugget parking lot honking their horns at the intersection of highways 160 and 372, Trump supporters waved signs, flags and banners in defense of him.
Trump faces multiple election-related investigations, and was expected to be arraigned on Tuesday on criminal charges stemming from a 2016 hush-money probe after a Manhattan grand jury indicted him last week.
Rally organizer Bruce Schoenberger said he was compelled to defend Trump because of the unfair treatment the former president has received over the past six years.
“This is a false allegation,” Schoenberger said. “And it’s not going to amount to anything. Trump gave up billions to serve the country. This event shows that there is a lot of support for the ex-president who tried to do the right thing”
Schoenberger said Trump supporters are frustrated by the allegations..
When asked why he was at the rally Saturday in Pahrump, Dan Blackstone said, “After I got done yelling at the TV, I called my friend Bruce (Schoenberger) and said that we had to do something to show our support.”
Several others also rallied around the cause.
“He (Trump) needs our help,” said Mark Bivens, who attended the rally in Pahrump on Saturday. “We’re here to help.”
Denny King was also there to support Trump.
“This indictment is awakening the sleeping lion,” he said.
Liz Herring felt the indictment was a political witch hunt.
“They say they’re after Trump, but they’re really after all of us,” she said.
Ryan Calley , who attended the weekend rally, says he’s praying that Trump is elected in 2024 to take the nation back.
“I believe that what they’re doing to Donald Trump is not about Donald Trump,” said Sharon, another attendee at the rally who declined to provide her last name. “They’re waging political warfare on all of us and that’s wrong.”
While the rally was organized as a protest to Trump’s indictment, there was a great deal of support for his political career. Some of the signs and banners read “4 more years,” “Trump 2024,” and “Don’t blame me, I voted for Trump”.
“We need our Trumpster back, ” said Dot Sharon.
Schoenberger said he plans another Trump rally at the intersection of highways 160 and 372 in Pahrump for 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 8.
For further information, contact him at shoinusa@yahoo.com.
Bill Newyear is a freelance writer in Pahrump.