By Teagan Greer
Donald Trump, former president of the United States and 2024 Republican nominee, visited Reno for a rally on Oct. 11 at the Grand Sierra Resort. Thousands made their way to the ballroom where the former president was scheduled to speak, with lines forming hours ahead of Trump’s scheduled remarks.
Before Trump arrived, speakers like Sam Brown, the Republican nominee for Nevada’s senate seat, and Mark Amodei, the current House Representative for Nevada’s District 2 seat seeking re-election, greeted attendees with opening remarks. Speakers urged audience members to vote in the 2024 elections, discussing their own personal experiences as politicians as well as expressing gratitude to the audience.
As Trump walked into the room, the song “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood played in the background. The song ended with cheers and chants as the candidate stepped onto the podium.
He first expressed his condolences to the crowd about the hurricanes, Helene and Milton, that devastated many people in the east. Trump then covered several controversial issues in his speech, including inflation and immigration.
One matter that got plenty of Trump’s attention was Kamala Harris, his opponent in the general election.
“We need better help from a thing called the federal government…we need better help from, I guess you can say, Kamala,” Trump said at the end of his speech.
Attendees booed Harris’ name during earlier remarks and cheered when Trump said his campaign would defeat her.
Trump later showed a video of a Harris interview from “The View”, in which Harris said that she couldn’t think of anything she’d change about the policy of Joe Biden, under whom she’s served as vice president since 2021. The video was paired with clips from various news sources that echoed Trump’s concerns about the economy, terrorism and crime.
“Does anybody know the name Harris?” Trump asked the crowd afterwards. “If you say Harris, everybody says, ‘Who the hell is Harris?’ We’ve had enough. We can’t take it anymore, we’re not going to take it anymore. Kamala, you’re fired!”
Trump then continued to explain what he planned to do if he was in office.
“We will make America affordable again,” Trump promised the audience.
Trump told crowds he’d cut citizens’ energy prices in half and led chants about pushing through a no-tax-on-tips policy. He then returned to criticizing Harris, this time with a focus on the economy.
“Let’s put it simply, she’s a communist….she’s also known as the taxing queen,” Trump claimed.
Trump also stressed his stance on immigration. He added that he plans on allowing the death penalty for any immigrant that kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer. He then elaborated on plans for “Operation Aurora,” which he said would force “illegal alien gang members” to leave the country or risk 10 years in jail without parole.
Trump told attendees that he would close the border and oversee the largest deportation operation in American history.
After the immigration portion of his speech, Trump then claimed that Harris would ban the use of firearms. Harris mentioned during the Sept. 10 presidential debate that she herself owns a gun.
Turning to foreign policy, Trump promised an end to several global conflicts.
“I will end the war in Ukraine, stop the chaos in the Middle East and prevent World War Three,” Trump said. “I will crush violent crime and give our police the support, protection, resources, and respect they so dearly deserve.”
The former president also emphasized support for the military in his speech.
“We will strengthen and modernize our military, we will build a missile defense shield all made in the U.S.A and we will not have a woke military,” Trump added.
Trump’s remarks were paired with a video comparing a general calling his troops to popular sound trends from TikTok.
On education policy, Trump said that he’d support universal school choice, adding that what he called “Critical Race Theory” and “transgender studies” don’t belong in schools. He also told crowds that he’d keep men out of women’s sports, a reference to recent controversy around transgender women on sports teams.
Trump used other descriptions to show what America would look like if he was in office, claiming that he will bring the “American Dream” back.
After an hour and thirty minutes, Trump ended with his slogan, “We will make America great again.” He exited the stage to a remix of the Village People’s “YMCA.”
Teagan Greer can be reached via email at peregrineh@unr.edu or on Instagram via @NevadaSagebrush.
