As presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump visited Chicago to raise more than $1 million for his campaign Tuesday, activists gathered near his namesake downtown tower to denounce the inflammatory language they say makes him unfit to be president.
About three dozen protesters held a news conference to highlight Trump’s statements about Muslims, women, Mexicans and other groups, saying the businessman and former reality TV star’s words and policies would lead to dangerous divisiveness in America.
“We do not welcome Donald Trump to Chicago,” said Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, a Cook County commissioner and onetime mayoral candidate, as the sign-waving protesters looked on and the “Trump” sign bolted to the side of Trump Tower was visible in the background. “We don’t welcome him because of the hateful and divisive rhetoric that he represents. To elect him president of this country would be disastrous. It would be a setback for Chicago, and Chicago cannot afford to go back.”
The Democratic National Committee sent out a news release alerting reporters to the anti-Trump news conference. Participants in the rally included members of unions and representatives of the National Organization for Women and immigrants’ rights advocates who are traditional Democratic allies.
The Chicago lunch fundraiser at Trump Tower was organized by businessman Ronald Gidwitz, who has assumed the title of Trump Victory Illinois finance chairman. Tickets are $10,000 to attend, $25,000 to get a photo with the candidate and $100,000 to be part of a VIP roundtable that includes photos and two lunch tickets, according to an invitation for the private event.
Terry Brown, 61, said he decided to attend the rally after reading about it online.
“I’ve been alive for 11 presidents, and I’ve disagreed with many of them about different things,” Brown said. “This is the first one I felt the candidate was actually dangerous to America.
“Any time he opens his mouth, I disagree with him. He has disparaged just about every possible group he could except for old fat white guys,” he said. “I’m probably in the group of voters that would normally support Trump, and it hurts me to walk down the street and see women and Muslims and Latinos who he’s spoken with so much hatred about and I feel them looking at me as being part of that group that supports those kinds of ideas. And it makes me mad. I’m not part of that group.”
After several people spoke against Trump and the news conference broke up, a handful of attendees tried to cross to the north side of the Wabash Avenue Bridge, where Trump Tower sits on the bank of the Chicago River. But those carrying signs from the rally, some of which read “Trump Demeans Women” and “Tell Trump: it is un-American to ban Muslims” were stopped by Chicago police.
Officers said that for security reasons, and because the tower sits on private property, they decided to limit the rally to the south side of the river.
Later Tuesday, a second rally was held at the same spot by about a dozen members of Next Gen Climate to draw attention to their support of clean energy and express their disapproval of Trump’s environmental policies. The group’s political arm has spent millions of dollars against Republican candidates.
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David Evers, 21, said the group’s primary goal is to elect candidates who are willing to take bold action on climate change, and that “Donald Trump has made it especially clear that he is not one of those candidates.”
The climate activists also were stopped by police from crossing the river after their news conference.
The fundraiser and small protests came as Trump started Tuesday with a Twitter message about the city’s rising violent crime.
“Crime is out of control, and rapidly getting worse. Look what is going on in Chicago and our inner cities. Not good!” he tweeted. He later followed up that tweet with another: “This election is a choice between law, order & safety — or chaos, crime & violence. I will make America safe again for everyone. #ImWithYou”
The presidential campaign stays in Illinois on Wednesday, when presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton gives a speech in Springfield at the Old State Capitol. That’s the same place President Barack Obama launched his first White House bid in February 2007. Clinton then heads to Wilmette for a private campaign fundraiser hosted by Laura Ricketts, a liberal member of the conservative family that owns the Cubs.