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The man under investigation and accused of attempting to overturn the last U.S. presidential election was cheered and applauded Saturday by more than 5,000 people in Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Arena.
Former President Donald Trump fulfilled a year-old promise to campaign in Alaska when he arrived at the arena, and thousands of Alaskans waited in line for hours to hear him speak.
Many said they drove hundreds of miles to attend — from Fairbanks, Chickaloon, Kenai and elsewhere.
Margaret Borges, 15 and Noelle Davidson, 17, left their home in Wasilla at 5 a.m. and stood in line outside until the doors opened at 11 a.m.
When they reached the arena, they found hundreds of people already in line ahead of them and weren’t sure if they’d have a seat. Each had their faces painted with Trump’s name.
“We’re big fans,” Borges said, because Trump is Catholic and against abortion. Trump actually identified himself as a “a non-denominational Christian” in 2020.
“What he did with the judges and the courts was just amazing,” Davidson said, referring to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
That act was made possible by Trump’s appointments to the court.
Jerry Michel, who waited in line with his wife, Dawn, said the rally was as much a spectacle as a political event.
“For Alaska, this is a huge deal,” he said, comparing it to a Kid Rock music concert he saw in Florida.
Dawn said they couldn’t pass up an opportunity to hear Trump speak.
Lines to enter the arena at times stretched around three sides of the building, which has a seated capacity of 5,000 but can accommodate another 1,000 people standing.
Alaska Airlines staff kept clickers at the gates, and one tallied 5,077 entries by the time Trump began speaking at 4:30 p.m.
Hundreds more people stayed outside, watching the speech on a large screen.
Merchandisers sold flags, T-shirts, hats and other memorabilia. Thirteen-year-old Rich Hodges bought a shirt featuring a parody of the Geico insurance mascot as he waited in line. He’s a “big fan” of Trump, he said.
Attendees said they are aware of Congress’ hearings into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol but said they don’t believe Trump was responsible.
Many carried flags or signs saying that they believe Trump won the 2020 presidential election, and chanted denunciations of President Joe Biden.
Attendees saved most of their energy for the rally itself — the line outside was comparatively quiet, with some good-natured campaigning.
Daniel Darnell of Fairbanks said he was a Democratic-voting union pipefitter when former Gov. Sarah Palin was in office, but after seeing years of layoffs in the North Slope oil fields, he’s now supporting Trump, Palin and Republicans.
On Saturday, he wore a Trump flag as a cape and carried a Palin sign, attempting to sway supporters of fellow Republican U.S. House candidate Nick Begich.
A group of counterprotesters gathered near the line to enter the arena, but the group was so small — about two dozen people participated — that many attendees said they weren’t aware of them.
A large abortion-rights protest took place on the Delaney Park Strip at the same time as the Trump event, likely reducing the number of possible counterprotesters.
Barbara Michel said she was excited to see the number of people gathered to support Trump and said it’s a sign that positive change is coming.
“We need him back,” she said of Trump.
This Alaska Beacon story is being republished under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.