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Rally attendees in day-glo orange vests and “make America great again” hats waved red and blue signs that said “Trump will fix it” to to the tune “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond on the last Saturday before the Nov. 5 election in Salem, Virginia. 

Seats in the Salem Civic Center filled slowly as rally attendees made their way through security then awaited the arrival of former President Donald Trump. 

The late-campaign visit to a state that is polling in the double-digits for Vice President Kamala Harris has left some scratching their heads, much like a recent visit to New Mexico by the former president. New Mexico, like Virginia, is rated “likely Democrat” by Cook Political, and recent polling has supported that analysis. 

Supporters of former President Donald Trump stand outside a rally at the Salem Civic Center on Saturday, Nov. 2. Photo by Randall K. Wolf.

The Trump campaign believes Virginia is in play for Republicans, however, and they are seeking to run up their vote totals in the reliably red region of the state. 

Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg, who attended the rally, had a different take on why the Republican candidate would choose to make one of his last campaign stops before the election in Virginia. 

Walker noted that, while Virginia may not be “in play like other states,” Trump is able to galvanize voters in Southwest Virginia. 

“Right here, in small-town Salem, Virginia — he could have gone to other cities but this shows you that he cares about the folks that are suffering from Hurricane Helene and he cares about the grassroots people here,” he said. “You look at all these folks out here, this is the backbone of America, and the backbone of America loves Donald Trump.”

In play or not, about 6,000 people from around the region attended the rally

A head-to-toe American flag print, a Super Mario costume with a “MAGA” red hat, a child in an Oscar the Grouch costume. From elected officials and candidates in three-piece suits to attendees in garbage bags decorated with Trump stickers — a play on recent controversial remarks by President Joe Biden — rallygoers wore their political leanings on their sleeves, literally. 

Biden had appeared to suggest the Trump supporters were “garbage,” in response to a comic at the candidate’s recent rally at Madison Square Garden who called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage.” The comic’s comment sparked widespread outrage against both him and Trump. It was just as quickly overshadowed by Biden’s controversial remark. 

“It was just like Hillary calling us all deplorables and now he’s calling us trash,” Linda Kampersal, a rally attendee said. “It’s typical of the Democrats.”

Supporters of former President Donald Trump wore reflective vests at a rally at the Salem Civic Center on Saturday, Nov. 2. Photo by Randall K. Wolf.

Kampersal, a 68-year-old, lifelong Republican and retired resident of Lynchburg, wore a black plastic garbage bag adorned with Trump campaign stickers. She said she voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. 

“I just wanted to show my support for him. Everytime they throw something at him he responds in a good way, it just makes him all that more popular so I just want to support him by wearing this,” she said. 

Aaron Will, a 39-year-old law-enforcement officer and resident of Augusta County, drove an hour south to attend the rally. Though he identifies as an independent, Will said he voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. He wore a T-shirt with a photo of Trump and text that read: “I’m voting for the convicted felon.”

“I haven’t always voted Republican, I vote on the candidate and the morals and the values that I want to see, but I do like Trump a lot,” he said. “I think the felony convictions will be overturned eventually, it’s taking some time right now. I don’t agree with them.”

Thousands of supporters of the former president in the Southwest Virginia Republican stronghold were animated on the weekend before the Nov. 5 election. They did the wave to Kid Rock’s “Bawitdaba” while waiting for Trump to take the stage. 

They cheered raucously during warm-up speeches by congressional hopefuls state Sen. John McGuire and incumbent Rep. Morgan Griffith and U.S. Senate candidate Hung Cao. Virginia’s gubernatorial hopeful Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, Attorney General Jason Miyares and Gov. Glenn Youngkin also addressed the crowd. 

Members of the Roanoke College swim team also made an appearance on stage with Trump, wearing pink T-shirts that read, “Keep [image of a hotdog in a bun] out of women’s sports.” Team captain Lily Mullens, a senior at the school from Ohio, told the crowd that “anti-women” policies have allowed “men to compete against women of all ages in all sports.”

Mullens’ comment is related to a 2023 controversy when a trans woman requested to join the college’s swim team. A monthlong controversy ensued, involving almost-daily meetings between both the women’s and men’s teams, swim staff and school administration, as well as the trans athlete, who had not been publicly named.

Late-game ‘Get Out the Vote’ push in Virginia

Sara Poorman, a 39-year-old West Virginia resident, drove to Salem on Saturday morning for the rally. 

“We just felt like it’s too important, not to just sit back and watch. We need to be a part of it and supporting [Trump] and trying to be there and get everybody out to vote,” she said.

Poorman said she had been a lifelong Democrat up until the 2020 election, when she felt compelled to stick with the incumbent president because the economy had been on an upturn and the rate of immigration was relatively low in the three years of Trump’s presidency before the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the stage, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley encouraged the crowd to make a last ditch effort to get out the vote with just three days left until the Nov. 5 election. 

“When you deliver Virginia, we’re going to expand our majority in the House and by God send Donald J. Trump back to the White House,” he told the crowd.

Trump took the stage about an hour and a half after he was scheduled to begin his remarks. His tardiness didn’t appear to dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm. They erupted into a roaring ovation as he took the stage after their “We want Trump” chant was answered.

“I’m here today in this incredible commonwealth for one very simple reason, because I believe we can win Virginia,” Trump told the crowd. “We have to get you guys out, you’ve got to get out, we have to get out. We want to win everything, we want to win the popular vote.”

The crowd responds to former President Donald Trump, Republican candidate for president, during a rally at the Salem Civic Center on Saturday, Nov. 2. Photo by Randall K. Wolf.

Seventy-year-old Leesa Oakes, a retired Salem resident, said she had been in line waiting to get inside of the event center since 5:30 a.m. that morning. She said she voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 and will vote for him again this year. She’s concerned about the country’s economic stability and said she believes she will need to return to work if Trump doesn’t win. 

“I wish the candidates themselves would talk more about their policies and quit badmouthing the other,” she said. “Tell us what you’re going to do to help us.”

Over the course of his 1.5-hour speech, Trump talked about the Roanoke College swim team, immigration, Elon Musk, promised to “drill baby drill,” and asked Miyares to investigate former Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi’s connection with Visa, while weaving in some questions about the validity of the upcoming election.

Besides the presidential candidates, we have more than 500 local candidates seeking office across Southwest and Southside. See who they are and where some of them stand in our Voter Guide.

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