Trump foes, supporters stage rallies in Bend
Two groups of demonstrators gathered in Bend’s Drake Park Saturday, one protesting Tuesday’s election of Donald Trump as president and the other in support of him.
The pro-Trump contingent said they wanted to spread a message of acceptance, not only of the result as produced by the Electoral College, but also of each other, no matter our political differences. They also stressed the need to come together behind the country’s new leadership, instead of staying on just one side of the vast rift between the two factions of people in America.
“We are not racist, we’re not sexist, we’re not homophobic,” said Francis Mitchell, organizer of the pro-Trump rally. “We are here to support everyone, regardless. If we all unite and come together and show love and peace and unity, we will rise up.”
Just down the road, on the other side of Drake Park, hundreds of anti-Trump demonstrators gathered and walked in solidarity against the new president-elect. They joined thousands of others across the nation holding events to protest the results and the election of a candidate they believe has serious flaws.
“We’re here because we think Donald Trump is a candidate in bad faith,” rally leader Lief Bamberg explained. “As somebody who has campaigned on hate and bigotry, on sexual assault toward women, on denying climate change, and mocking our international allies, these are not the values that we represent as Americans.”
In addition to opposing Trump’s divisive rhetoric, the demonstrators also took issue with the Electoral College’s failure to produce the same result as the popular vote.
Once they started marching, chants of “the people united will never be divided” could be heard from downtown.
But unlike the violence seen in Portland and scattered other places, Bend’s rallies led to no incidents.
