Trump Visits Alabama: A Nod to Early Supporters
MOBILE, Ala. – At a rally in Alabama on Friday, President Trump shared that he chose to stop in the state ahead of the upcoming midterm elections to honor some of his earliest backers.
“I’m here to say, hello, I love you and really as a sign of respect,” Trump expressed at the Mitchell Center, located on the University of South Alabama campus.
“You’ve got to pay respect to people that have supported you right from the beginning,” he added.
In a stark contrast, Trump mentioned he campaigned with Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton in Texas the previous day “because we have to win that race.”
Looking back, Trump reminisced about how Mobile hosted his very first major rally over a decade ago. “It sort of all began here,” he recalled.
He described how, during his 2016 campaign, his team had initially arranged for him to speak at “a little hotel” in Mobile. However, the high demand for tickets led them to secure a football stadium instead.
The event on August 21, 2015, attracted around 30,000 supporters. “We packed the stadium, and the rest is history,” Trump reflected.
The president also disclosed plans to return to Alabama on October 10 to cheer on the Alabama Crimson Tide as they face off against the Georgia Bulldogs in a college football showdown.
As for the elections, Trump expressed his belief that his endorsed candidates in Alabama, including Sen. Tommy Tuberville for governor, Rep. Barry Moore for Senate, and congressional nominees Rhett Marques and Jerry Carl, would succeed in November. “All these guys – they’re going to win, but you’ve got to still get out to vote,” he reminded the crowd, urging them to “pretend that I’m on the ballot.”
Later in his speech, Trump highlighted “$3 billion in funding from the Trump administration” earmarked for a new I-10 corridor bridge and joked about the possibility of Tuberville naming it after him if he wins the governorship. “That’s a lot of money … $3 billion … maybe they’ll name the damn bridge after me, and I’ll be happy,” he quipped.
