When the President Visits Your Hometown
I was 7 years old the last time a sitting President visited my hometown. I remember my mom checking me out of school to see him speak at Shaw Industries, a local carpet plant in Dalton. I don’t remember anything President George H.W. Bush said that day, but I do remember the deep pride that welled up inside me that the President of the United States visited Dalton.
I wish I had that same feeling tonight as I watched coverage of the second presidential visit in my lifetime. Instead, I was overwhelmed by grief and anger.
I watched bleachers packed with mostly maskless supporters in a county where COVID-19 infection rates are among the highest in the state (despite woeful testing capacity) and hospitals are at capacity. Multiple civic leaders have died from COVID-19 (including a Republican county commissioner in November).
I watched President Trump claim he won this election by a larger margin than when he actually won in 2016, spouting conspiracy theories of a rigged election that have been thrown out of every Georgia court hearing to date. Then, he asked the crowd to vote tomorrow using the same voting machines that supposedly scammed him in November.
I watched President Trump derisively refer to illegals as dangerous in a community where more than a third of residents are Hispanic. Many of the rally attendees probably work or attend school alongside people who are the target of this rhetoric, yet it’s met with cheers instead of boos.
I watched Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene proudly proclaim that they would object to Wednesday’s acceptance of the Electoral College outcome in Congress as the crowd chanted, “Fight for Trump!” In a party that supposedly stands against centralized government in Washington, they are supporting an effort by that same federal government to subvert state and local election results that members of their own party certified.
I wish I could be proud that a sitting President visited my hometown this time, too. It should be that way. Instead, I’m left with grief and prayers that the virus and conspiracy theories won’t spread further in the days ahead.
*This article first appeared on my Medium page. When I launched Southbound on Substack in fall 2021, I migrated this story over to Southbound.
May God bless you Sam! You are going to be a shining light in these dark times!