Donald Trump in Everett: 'We are going to stop the Syrian refugees'
Donald Trump said he’s got a good reason to bring his anti-TPP, anti-refugee rhetoric to Boeing country.
“They say Republicans don’t win Washington state, but we’re going to win it,” Trump told the crowd Tuesday night at Xfinity Arena in Everett. “That’s why I’m here.”
Major themes in his speech were jobs, immigration and which political party best serves minorities.
People started lining up at 2 a.m. to hear it.
Christina Oman came up from Milton to be fifth in line.
"Because I feel that this is history that's going to happen - history in the making,” she said. "And I feel it's time for us to make a change in this country."
Leo Missler, originally from Holland, said he likes Trump’s tough talk on immigration.
"You know I came here legal in 1962,” he said. “It took me years to be able to come to the United States.”
Eugenia Kenner, originally from the Phillippines, also supports the hard line with immigrants.
"I'm here to support Trump. Because I like the way he talk, the way he speak,” she said. “He want America great again."
And Trump did not disappoint. He said people fleeing Syria's civil war would have to look elsewhere for safe harbor.
"We are going to stop the Syrian refugees from entering the United States and instead build a safe zone overseas," he said.
And he blasted Hillary Clinton's immigration policy, saying, “It brings in illegal immigrants and refugees to take jobs from our hardworking African-American and Hispanic citizens. And they want those jobs."
On Wednesday, Trump was headed to Mexico on the invitation of that country's president. And he was set to deliver an immigration speech in Arizona.
Jobs are an obvious topic for a candidate campaigning in Washington, the most trade-dependent state in the country.
But Trump again slammed U.S. trade deals like NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
"We're bringing jobs back to our country,” he said. “We're not going to let our jobs go to other countries anymore. There will be retribution. There will be a price to pay."
Notably, no Republican candidates spoke in support of Trump. He was preceded on the stage by Republican national chairman Reince Priebus and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Outside the arena, Mahesh Parshotam of Edmonds joined a protest against Trump. He was born in South Africa but has lived in the U.S. for 30 years and works for Boeing.
He said Trump’s trade policies would be a disaster for the company.
He also questioned Trump’s concern about minorities, noting the candidate’s previous statements about Latinos and others.
"We've seen this before in South Africa -- legalized racial discrimination,” Parshotam said. “I’ve seen it, but now it’s here, a repeat of that.”
KUOW's Joshua McNichols contributed to this report.
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David Hyde
Reporter
David’s people-focused politics coverage tracks local and national races. At KUOW, David has also reported for our Hearken Team answering listener questions,and covered a variety of other topics ranging from vaccine hesitancy to climate change.
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