Five takeaways from Trump's Loveland rally

Jason Pohl, jasonpohl@coloradoan.com

LOVELAND — It was an hour of deafening chants, promises of a happier tomorrow and — of course — rips on journalists, both past and present.

It was a long line of supporters, many of whom waited outside the Budweiser Events Center for hours. It was an even longer evening for those who ended up in the traffic backlog exiting the jam-packed arena.

MORE:  Five takeaways from Trump's Loveland rally

Monday's rally ended up being a lot of things. Here, for the sake of brevity, are five of the most memorable things that came from Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump’s whirlwind Monday trip to Loveland.

The crowd cheers as Donald Trump enters rally at the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland on October 3, 2016.

The media

A man flips off the media at a Donald Trump rally at the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland on October 3, 2016.

It’s become part of every campaign rally, sometimes fueled by a less-than-flattering headline or a fact checker’s claims that Trump's truth is not the whole truth — or remotely close to it. But on the heels of the weekend’s scathing New York Times report about a 20-year-old tax filing, Trump fired back.

He criticized journalists, front-page headlines and pundits from the 1990s, saying they were unfair to him and suggested he was doomed to fail during economically challenging times. He fought back, he said, lauding his business acumen, knowledge of the tax codes, and history of building tall buildings and employing thousands of people. The crowd cheered as he talked about using the tax code to his advantage and knowing how to use it to everyone’s advantage in the future.

When Trump said the same media is trying to doom him to failure in 2016, deep boos bellowed from the capacity crowd, some turning to the bullpen and waving arms at reporters typing away on computers or working the television cameras.  

The media never shows the crowds at his rallies, Trump said. About that …

The crowds

Donald Trump enters a rally at the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland on October 3, 2016.

They were huge. As in, record-setting huge. The biggest crowd the Budweiser Events Center has ever seen. The home of the Colorado Eagles and venue for everything from rock concerts to Cirque du Soleil typically can hold about 7,000 attendees.

As lines wrapped around the property, it became clear by about 4 p.m. that this wouldn’t be a typical rally.

A Larimer County Sheriff’s Office deputy said officers were told the campaign handed out upward of 20,000 tickets since the event was announced Wednesday afternoon.

All told, 8,000 people crammed inside the Budweiser Events Center, while there were about 10,000 people on the grounds in total, center staff confirmed.

While most of the folks outside were Trump supporters, others came from the other side of the aisle, however few. 

The protesters

Protesters are escorted away from the lawn area at the Budweiser Events Center on Monday during the Donald Trump rally.

At one point during the afternoon, the number of Larimer County Sheriff’s Office personnel — nine — outnumbered the eight protesters gathered in a “free speech zone” in the middle of a sidewalk. Law enforcement kept protesters and the snaking line of thousands of Trump supporters separated with a wrought iron gate and about 100 feet of open ground.

Later in the afternoon, about 30 protesters ended up holding signs and chanting “We pay taxes” and “Love trumps hate.” Trump supporters shouted back “Build the wall” and “Go get a job.” One Trump supporter, a man who appeared to be in his 50s, bleated like a sheep toward the confined denouncers. Another man said, “We hate everybody.”

The swag

Donald Trump supporters set up outside the Trump rally at the Budweiser Events Center on Monday.

There was no shortage of shirts, hats and pins for sale outside the rally. Most had the typical slogans.

Some depicted Hillary Clinton as the devil.

And all, sans one vendor who travels with the campaign, offered swag produced in countries other than the U.S. Bangladesh. Honduras. A doll that bore a striking similarity to Trump himself was made in China.

Why?

“Because Hillary runs it all,” someone shouted, apparently referring to trade deals.

On a different note, a pizza food truck gave out free slices to veterans, much to the crowd’s delight.

That opening statement

Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump speaks at a rally at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland on Monday.

It was loud in the BEC. Like, really loud, even without the chants. The crowd was riled up, "I'm Proud to be an American" was blaring, and many didn't seem to catch what happened next. 

“It’s great to be here today in Laramie County and in the beautiful state which we’re going to win of Colorado."

Wait, what?

Laramie. As in Wyoming.

Not Larimer.

It’s an honest mistake your relatives and out-of-state friends have probably made in the past. But as Larimer County stands to be a contentious battleground over the next 35 days, similar slips are bound to come up again.

Reporter Jason Pohl covers breaking news for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.