Anaiya Martin, Contributor

The current President of the United States attended the Target Center in Minneapolis on Thursday, Oct. 10. Weeks preceding his arrival, there was a direct ill-conceived conflict via social media (a.k.a. Twitter beef) between him and various minority congresswomen, including Minnesota’s U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar. After months of friction between himself and Minnesota leaders, Trump came to Minneapolis, Ilhan Omar’s district which she won by over two-thirds of voters, and openly expressed his opposition to the current systems and willingness to integrate, one of the things Minnesota is pridefully known for.

President Trump appears to be exceedingly confident in his ability to win over liberal Minnesota in the 2020 election after losing Minnesota to Hilary Clinton in 2016 by less than 2%. His win was unexpected; he is only the fifth president in the history of the United States to lose the nationwide popular vote and win the electoral vote, the final decision which placed him in office.

Many were unaware of his appearance to Minneapolis proceeding the rally, which does raise concern about the upcoming election as it is growing nearer with each rally. Societal portrayal of Trump rallies in liberal states such as Minnesota is that the President himself imposes these rallies on the residents. There were roughly 20,000 people at the Target Center during the rally, which was the capacity. In Trump’s speech he stated, there were another 25,000 people outside. The alleged 25,000 people he spoke of were protesters. 

“Since coming into office, I have reduced refugee resettlement by 85%, and as you know, maybe especially in Minnesota, I kept another promise,” Trump bragged at the rally. Perhaps this mindset is what sparked such controversy. The rally was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., but the doors opened at 4 p.m. While tickets were free, it was recommended through his website to arrive earlier than allowed to increase the chances of being allowed in. 

There had been previous conflicts between Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey and Trump’s campaign team after Trump’s threats to sue the city for what he called an abuse of power following the Mayor trying to hold Trump’s office responsible to pay roughly $500,000 for security during the week’s rally. City officials originally tried to hold the Target Center, which is managed by AEG, which is owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz who legendarily contributes millions to Republican causes, responsible for paying these fees. Then, the mayor’s administration attempted to get Trump’s team to pay for the bill, adding that the administration would not be able to use the arena otherwise.

I can respectively, and confidently say for, at the very least, a great portion of Minnesotans, that they would rather see him be accountable for his impeachment allegations than hear him castigate a city that he deems “infested”. Mayor Jacob Frey responded to the current occupant of the White House’s arrival in a Minnesotan friendly fashion: “Donald Trump has every right to visit Minneapolis,” Frey said. “There are a lot of folks around the city who, you know, have the right to make their voices heard in opposition to him.”

It is our responsibility to welcome every politician to our home to hear their proclamations, as well as it is our duty to vote and make sure our voices and opinions are heard. In the words of Ilhan Omar: “It’s our time to fight for the America we know we can have.”

Make the change by being the change; vote.

This article was originally published in the November 1, 2019 issue.