Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump blew through Austin on Tuesday with a three-ring circus featuring an interview with FOX News, fundraising, and a rally at the Travis County Expo Center. In typical Austin style, his roadshow was dogged by protesters throughout the visit. Using teleprompters and staying mostly on message during his rally, Trump barked and bellowed his familiar themes to a packed house of at least 5,000 backers, as well as a handful of protesters who managed to disrupt the event. In between chants of “build that wall” and “lock her up,” Trump claimed his campaign would “declare our independence” from a litany of “failures of the past” that included “rising crime, soaring poverty, crushing debt” and “media executives who don’t care about us and don’t report on our very massive and friendly crowds.” Protests continued outside the Expo Center as attendees left the event.
Information is power. Support the free press, so we can support Austin. Support the Chronicle