Blue, white & MAGA: Trump supporters flood Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center for rally

The long line in front of the Bryce Jordan Center late Saturday morning was a mix of Penn State gear and MAGA apparel, as hundreds waited for the doors to open for former President Donald Trump’s campaign rally.

Despite a 4 p.m. scheduled start time, doors for the event opened at noon, with many attendees arriving early Saturday morning to stake out their place in line. By noon, thousands began to flow into the Penn State venue, an orderly sea of red hats, sweatshirts and flags with some of the campaign’s famous iconography and slogans, “Trump Won,” “Too Big to Rig,” and the now-famous photo from the failed assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

For Penn Tech sophomores Emma Kane and Jacob Parker, Nov. 5 will be their first presidential election. Both said they’ve been supporters of the former president since 2016 but this fall will be their first opportunity to cast their votes for him.

“I’m excited and happy to do my part,” Parker said, in a black Make America Great Again hat.

Making the November election “Too Big To Rig” was a common theme throughout the crowd, with posters and flags both inside and outside the venue promoting false conspiracies and misinformation about election fraud. Since Trump lost the election in 2020, he has continuously promoted the false claim that there was interference, calling the election “rigged.” Despite investigations finding no proof of widespread election fraud, many Trump voters echoed the lie that he won in 2020.

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who spoke hours before Trump took the stage, said election integrity was a major point in the upcoming election. Taylor Greene has repeatedly pushed false theories about 2020 election, including the veracity of the Dominion voting machines.

“Election integrity is something I’ll be watching for,” Taylor Green said to the CDT. “I want to see how the elections come out. Make sure all the votes are counted. Make sure that there’s no election fraud via absentee ballot, overseas voting or machine voting.”

The top sections of the BJC were blocked off, but the bottom section of the venue was mostly full, with what appeared to be a mix of local attendees, students and others who traveled to the event. Many stayed until the end but, about 40 minutes into Trump’s roughly 75-minute speech, some crowd members prematurely headed for the exits.

Sean Moon, a preacher from the controversial Rod of Iron Ministries, drove up from Tennessee to attend. Saturday’s rally will be his 18th this year; he’s hoping to make it to three more before the election.

“A lot of our community around the world is coming in to pray for America to stand strong at this time, get President Trump back,” Moon said.

Thomas Fair, a farmer from Bedford County, drove an hour and a half to see Trump speak. He said he believes Trump is running for office again out of a genuine wish to help middle-class voters.

“You just think about what he’s sacrificing to do this — he wouldn’t have to do nothing, he could just sit out on one of his back porches and just do nothing,” Fair said. “He’s trying to help the working people of America, and that’s why I strongly support him. He’s out for the working, true Americans that built this country.”

Frank Mellace, a State College resident and undecided voter, said he doesn’t necessarily consider himself a fan of the former president but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see him in person.

“I just wanted to just experience something of this nature,” Mellace said. “I’ve never gotten to see a president or a former president speak live before, so I thought it would be kind of cool.”

Mellace said he hopes people can see past the language and look into the policies each candidate puts forward.

“Hopefully, everybody’s going to take a look at the issues and look through the rhetoric and understand the issues more than just the rhetoric,” Mellace said. “It’ll help sort some things out so that our country can become a better place.”

Saturday’s event also included a protest of about 60 people. Organized by Penn State student groups, the protesters marched from downtown to the BJC.

Trump is the first candidate to visit Centre County this election season. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez visited on Oct. 18 as part of a “Students for Harris” event, followed by several swing state governors including Josh Shapiro as part of the Harris/Walz campaign’s “Blue Wall Bus Tour” on Oct. 20.

The Trump Team’s bus stopped in State College on Oct. 22 with Abel Maldonado, former lieutenant governor of California; Kash Patel, former Defense Department chief of staff under Trump; and Monica Crowley, former assistant secretary of the Treasury for public affairs.

The deadline for voter registration has passed in Pennsylvania. Election Day is Nov. 5.