On same day of GOP debate in Miami, Trump supporters gather hours before Hialeah rally
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Donald Trump’s fans lined up early Wednesday at Henry Milander Park in Hialeah to give their full-throated support behind the former president, who was set to speak later tonight at a rally to counteract the GOP debate in Miami.
Micki Larson-Olson, a 54-year-old who traveled to Hialeah from Abilene, Texas, said she believes Trump doesn’t need to attend any of the Republican debates because the party didn’t help him prove the election was stolen from him.
“Trump is here for us, we have to be here for him,” she said. He will show force today. How many people would be watching that debate?”
READ MORE: LIVE Updates: Get the blow-by-blow as Trump, DeSantis, GOP contenders hit Miami-Dade
Larson-Olson, who retired from the Air Force, said she was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. She was arrested for unlawful trespassing and was behind bars for 180 days.
“I paid my debt to society, but I will wait for a big reimbursement once the truth comes out,” she said. “I refused to get down the stairs of the Capitol when police officer asked me to because I was there fighting for the American people.”
Benjamin Bennett, 78, headed down from Deerfield Beach for the rally. While he supports Trump, he said he would back Ron DeSantis, if chosen as the nominee, because he’s “a successful governor.”
“DeSantis kept the state open during COVID, also he is a ...veteran, as myself,” Bennett added.
Bennett, who served in Vietnam, was selling “Trump 2020” socks as well as currency with the former president’s face. He also claimed the election was stolen and that will “be proven, even [though] it’s too late.”
Grace Becker, a 57-year-old Orlando resident, left before sunrise to arrive to Hialeah before the former president’s rally, slated to start at 7 p.m. at the Hialeah park. Becker, who is originally from Beijing, China, was joined by her friend, Hao Hao, 64. The pair have attended at least 10 Trump rallies in various states.
Becker lived in Queens, New York, until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. She said she used to run a small business but lost everything after the lockdown.
“People can’t afford rent, can’t buy houses,” she said. “My son, 27, has a master’s degree and can’t afford a living. The system is damaged.”
For her, Trump is the best option to improve the economy and the country.
“He doesn’t need to debate because the news reporters aren’t fair with him,” she said. “The system is damaged, and he would fix it.”
Nidia Law made the drive from Naples to see Trump in her native Hialeah, where she grew up and worked as a hairdresser for years. She said she didn’t like Trump in 2016 but changed her mind during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m here today to hear how our country is going to get fixed,” she said. “Because we’re a hot mess.”
Law, who was decked out in a shirt emblazoned with “Get off your a--, vote MAGA,” said she likes to show her support, even though some friends are more timid.
“Fear is what gets us to stay quiet,” she said. “Then we become Communists.”
Santiago Torran Barnet, 61, pulled up to the Trump rally dressed in all-white like a mambí, or a Cuban fighter who gained independence from Spain in the late 1800s. Torran Barnet said he believes Trump is “the only option for America.”
“There is a phrase in Spanish lo que se sabe no se pregunta (What is known is not asked),” he said. “It does not make any sense that Trump [would] participate in any debate. He is going to win.”
Torran Barnet, who came to the U.S. from Cuba 23 years ago, said there’s not a viable candidate if the former president can’t be the Republican nominee. He added that he believes Trump is being politically persecuted.
“I never thought I could see political prisoners in America.”
