By LOIS WEISS

President Trump at Gastonia, NC October 21, 2020 credit Lois Weiss

A pastor recounted how he had been dressed down by a member of his congregation and asked how he could support a man who says and Tweets a lot of crazy things and mostly, does not act “presidential.”

The pastor replied to the effect that, “Jesus isn’t running this year and none of us is perfect.”

There I was, a Jew, sitting in a North Carolina church for an Evangelicals for Trump event, and thinking the pastor had tapped the essence of President Trump’s support. By standing up for G-d, Christmas, Israel, the family unit and school choice, the President had struck a chord with the pastors and their 25 million parishioners along with rabbis and other religious Americans.

Everyday people, whether white, black, Hispanic, Asian or Indigenous, had been berated for eight years by another man who had looked down at them, lectured them and allowed a sentiment to seep into everyday life that had made them afraid to open their mouths and empowered others to be hateful.

President Trump had given these working people a chance to be employed and cut taxes so they could save money towards their American Dream. He was tough on crime and those who sought to enter the country illegally while obtaining free health care, welfare and schooling. He railed against the “sanctuary cities” that allowed the criminals among them to deal drugs, continue sex trafficking and prey on others in the communities.

But President Trump had been stifled even before he was elected by the spying on his campaign by the prior Administration and the Deep State. Allegedly set up by Hillary Clinton to change the media conversation away from her home server and missing emails, the Democrat-leaning operatives ran with her idea to accuse Trump of colluding with Russia — and then made it so. They tried to stop his accomplishments at every turn and then later through impeachment. Rouge FBI agents and holdover Obama Administration officials dropped lies on those ranging from hateful politicians to reporters, all eager to accept the lies and write the story that would knock President Trump out of office.   

It was no wonder that such operatives wanted to protect the former Vice President Joe Biden and  his son, Hunter Biden from the depths of their financial dealings with the Ukraine, China and Russia. Biden had already bragged on video tape about that time he was visiting the Ukraine as Vice President and threatened not to release U.S. funds unless the prosecutor investigating his son and his then-company, Burisma, was fired. “And by golly, they did!” Biden bragged.

Biden was among the most moderate of those seeking to replace Trump in 2020. If he went down, it could topple President Obama’s legacy and possibly point to his involvement in allowing the spying on the Trump campaign, his administration and the web of lies spread to discredit Trump.

If the most left-leaning of the Democrat candidates won election, and put into place their plans to do away with combustion engines, fracking, and the US oil industry, it was the Ukrainian and other oil companies backed by Biden that would reap the windfall from being able to supply what was still needed.

Those in the church that September day, some 1,000 people, were mostly wearing masks and listened to the various white, black and Hispanic pastors as well as Trump’s youngest son, Eric Trump, along with the pastor who had brought them all together, Paula White.

Eric Trump speaking at a Huntersville, NC church Evangelicals for Trump
event on Sept. 3, 2020 Credit Lois Weiss
Pastor Paula White has known President Trump for 19 years Sept. 3, 2020 credit Lois Weiss

White had met Trump nearly 20 years ago, when he called her out of the blue and said he had listened to some of her sermons on TV. They talked for over two and a half hours, she said, and remained in touch. She had spoken at the Inauguration in 2016 and recently baptized Eric and Lara Trump’s baby girl, Carolina. She had also brought together the pastors at Trump Tower, prior to the 2016 election – something they had never, ever done before.

Go to any Trump rally and you will hear the people cheer for Israel — sometimes even more so than for the Second Amendment. But as the years have gone by, and Biden, his Vice-Presidential running mate, Kamala Harris, and others have become fixated on taking away firearms, the cheering for the Second Amendment is having a resurgence.

Outside of the most liberal cities with the toughest gun laws — and the most crime – most people have guns. They own guns the way others have golf drivers, fishing rods, catcher’s mitts and tennis racquets. It is part of everyday life and most of the kids start shooting at soda cans with .22 rifles as soon as they can aim safely and obey directions.  

Firearm sales slowed down after Trump won in 2016 but ramped up towards the end of 2019 and then in 2020 to record levels – over 3.9 million background checks were performed in June — and this check is needed for every sale and recertification of a firearm permit.

Since June, however, sales have slowed but only for a lack of guns and ammunition. Most stores shelves are empty of all but the most expensive or outdated firearms while ammunition is very scarce and expensive – the most common 9 mm Luger round has leaped from around 10 cents each, to in some cases, a $1 per round and even $2 from some stores. Since a day of practice can consume 100 to 500 rounds, the sport is suddenly expensive.

Gun owners are also hoarding ammo as they worry about Democrat proposals to tax ammunition and consider other ways to limit firearm ownership. In some states, background checks for local permits are taking many months – something more typical of New York than in large gun owning states like Pennsylvania and Virginia.   

By the end of October, President Trump was holding three rallies every day – each with tens of thousands of people. A rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte and close to the South Carolina border, attracted 23,000 to the local airport and was a North Carolina record.

Older couples who could barely walk make the pilgrimages to rallies, as if to see the Pope. In Gastonia, they poured off buses and limped their way hundreds of yards to the rally area. Some handicap seating was available – the rest made do standing for hours in the warm afternoon. Diamond & Silk kept up the enthusiasm and the popular North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest, now running for Governor, got loud cheers.

North Carolina Lt. Governor Dan Forest and President Trump at Gastonia, NC airport rally October `21, 2020 credit Lois Weiss

Finally, the limousine procession from the Charlotte Airport was spotted along with the flashing red lights from the accompanying police cars along the smaller airport’s access road. The President soon made his entrance from between two tremendously huge American flags and spoke for 90 minutes, riffing with the crowd.

Like a “Rocky Horror Picture Show” movie experience, the crowd chanted back to the President, “We Love You,” “Four More Years,” and “USA, USA.” Joe Biden now gets “Lock Him Up, with the media being told “CNN Sucks.” Luckily, it was the New York Post that outed Hunter Biden’s laptop emails and photographs so while furloughed from the Post, I was insulated from jeers while speaking with those in the crowd.  

Some told me seeing the President was a highlight of their life.

But they are all praying the President is re-elected as their fear of future riots, socialism, higher taxes, cancel culture, loss of firearms and retaliation of some sort for their religion, skin color, business or perceived “wealth” is incredibly frightening.

Worse, they are also concerned the results won’t be known for months, and that frightens them even more as they also pray for Trump to have a definitive, Presidential landslide.

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