What I Saw at the Trump Rally in Salina, Kansas 1 November 2026 [NaCly Dog]

This was President Trumps 30th rally in 32 days. It was his final rally before the election. Trump has been in Kansas before, in Topeka , and also in Wichita for this election cycle. The initial rally was scheduled for Saturday. It was canceled. After questions from the press, the Rally was moved to Sunday. This was Trump’s second Rally of the day. He had an earlier Rally in Iowa.

There was no problem getting to the remote parking place, but we arrived 8 hours before Trump’s speech, and a full 3 hours before doors opened. My widowed friend and I did pass by 10 protesters on the way through the outer security perimeter. We passed street vendors selling Trump memorabilia, and especially hats. School busses took us through more security checkpoints. Once off the bus we walked to a serpentine holding line next to a hanger. 10,000 tickets were downloaded for a venue of 7,000 seats.

The crowd was a mix of all ages, from a few babes in arms, a number of young people, and many in their 60s to older. There was a large number of red Trump hats in view, with funny to respectful t-shirts and attire.

The line was a collection of high trust, good people. We were with some long-married
couples, one married for 52 years, and a middle-school math teacher at a local Catholic school. One couple brought a disposable chair and were very gracious to share with others in need of rest. There had been a roar when the four engine Boeing 747-800 Air Force 1 landed and taxied near the waiting crowd.

One person stood out in the line, in a black suit with a black Trump hat, and a cell phone with an external power pack. I talked to him, figuring his formal dress marked him as European. He was a Romanian member of their Parliament. His mission was to contact the 1.4 million Romanian-Americans to get them to vote for Trump. He had spent 2 months traveling all over the US. On Election Day, he will be near Mar-a-Lago. Thanks to some commenters, I could knowledgeably discuss recent Polish and French events, and the specific Romanian shenanigans. His take was Trump is ensuring the continuation of Western Civilization, and is the last barrier to barbarism. “The US is the hope of the world.”

We were in line for 4 and a half hours. After the doors opened, it took an additional hour and a half to get to a professional security screening. TSA should be so good. Our tickets were not collected, but I am pretty certain face-recognition software was in use, from all the cameras. We sat near the fence line, and I could see the personnel ramps for both doors of AF-1 and people moving inside.

Security was both viable and quiet. I noticed helicopter air cover, and then special police drones with blue flashing lights. Lots more Secret Service were around, as well as three types of local police. No police snipers were seen by me. Secret Service agents were roaming the crowd all the time.

We had an excellent sight-line to the open rostrum, protected on the sides and back by bulletproof glass. The Kansas City Chiefs game was on a large Jumbotron. With the Chiefs having a strong lead, the Jumbotron went silent.

Senator Marshall, on the ballot, and then Senator Moran came out to pitch the crowd to vote. Some policy was discussed, but mostly the negatives of opponents were mentioned. Then the Gubernatorial candidate Ty Masterson made his pitch, as did the incumbent State Attorney general (Kris Kobach, a personal favorite of the crowd and me), my Congressman, and another. All gave strong speeches, with policy to favor Kansans and denouncing the Left, their actions, and the DEM opponents, with specifics.

They left, and we waited for President Trump. He was still in Iowa at the other rally. The game came back on, and then toe-tapping rock music was played using two separate banks of 8 very large speakers. Hearing damage was possible. I could feel the bass compress my ribs and go from the ground to my femur. I was too close. We were outdoors, with bleacher seats behind the President and on the rear. Some people had to stand or squat.

There were 4 food vendors there, and the prices would make an airport blush. Two pork cheeseburgers and two waters was $46. The caps were taken off as they handed you the water, so some manual dexterity was needed.

The Chiefs lost the game, darkness descended, and we waited, being pounded by the music. Then the speakers crackled “Air Force 1 to Salina Tower, permission to do a low pass over the large crowd?” “Permission Granted.” “In sight.” Over our heads came a Boeing 757 in AF-1 livery. The plane landed and I noticed a long line of vehicles, headed by the Beast limo, head for the aircraft. They blocked any sight lines from the crowd to the deplaning group. We
could see people moving off the plane, but lighting was low. Eye of the Tiger music pounded us as the group left AF-1.

Trump came out to a frenzied crowd an hour and a half after the posted time. His voice was a tad raspy. But he talked about his achievements, with many big numbers. He talked about the good of tariffs and manufacturing, and seemed very proud of getting lower drug prices. He also said this was his last rally. Before the election. He worked the crowd very well, saying he wanted to go on after the Kansas City Chiefs game was over and praised the coach (Andy Reid) and QB Mahomes. He said he was sad they lost. When the President came out, there were a lot of vigilant and visible protection.

He urged us to vote. He spoke highly of Senator Marshall, and invited him up to speak. Then he praised Kris Kobach, and got him to talk. Later he asked the Secretary of Agriculture to speak to the farmers and ranchers.

After telling how he bullied France to help with his drug pricing, he called for Rubio to come up. Three times he said that Rubio is getting too popular. Twice he finished with “I’ll have to fire him.” My take was this was a sigh of high approval, and I moved Rubio into the status of heir apparent. VP JD Vance was mentioned once. I noticed three people that spoke talked of him calling them after midnight and before 6 AM. One said his wife was going to call Melania if it happened again.

He highlighted the threat to gun ownership several times, and there was a show of hands of gun owners. Practically the entire crowd raised their hand. Much more than when Veterans were asked to stand, or when ranchers and farmers were asked to raise hands.

Trump demonstrated a high energy level. He did not want to quit with such an enthusiastic crowd. He mentioned the fake news only three times. Without heat. Like they were sad puppies. As an aside, every time I passed the cordoned off press area, I wore my biggest sneer possible.

I had one protester shout at the President right behind where I was seated. I swirled around and got out of my chair in one movement. A look at my face, and she flipped me off with both hands, while backing up. A nearby Salina Police Sgt. passed me and led her away.

President Trump was having fun, had some sly humor, but he was dead serious that we needed to vote. He was like a priest, and I saw him evoke God and the many good pastors in his life, like Billy Graham and Norman Vincent Peale. He even pitched the book The Power of Positive Thinking. I got the feeling he was trying to pass on to a new generation what made him great, like a proud granddad to a grandchild.

We both had a great time. The school busses made for a quick exit, and clear traffic home.

posted by Open Blogger at 11:00 AM

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