VALDOSTA – “We are winning with old. We are winning with young. We are winning with highly educated, right? We’re winning with a little bit less than highly-educated, which is O.K. I love you.”
Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump was greeted by thunderous applause when he took to the stage Monday evening for a rally at Valdosta State University.
Trump began his remarks by pointing to a new nationwide poll from CNN that shows he has the support of 49 percent of Republican voters. Trump topped his nearest competitor by more than 30 points: 16 percent for Marco Rubio, 15 percent for Ted Cruz, 10 percent for Ben Carson and six percent for John Kasich.
“We’ve had a pretty good day,” Trump said.
Trump’s address was unconventional as stump speeches go, something the candidate acknowledged.
“You can’t have a scripted speech when you are on live television every night,” Trump said.
He transitioned from a few endorsements from NASCAR drivers to second amendment rights to his hotel business to Christmas.
“We are going to have Merry Christmas in our stores again,” Trump said.
Trump briefly discussed his plan to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, and made a point to mention the Pope’s disapproval of his plan.
“He doesn’t understand tremendous criminal elements are coming in. Tremendous drugs are pouring in. People are coming in illegally,” Trump said.
The common thread holding together Trump’s remarks throughout the event were his intermittent reminders about how well his campaign is doing.
“We are winning with the veterans. I love the veterans. We are winning with the military,” Trump said. “In other words, we are winning with everybody.”
Everybody except a small but vocal crowd of protesters who peacefully gathered along Baytree Road.
Megan Crawford, one of the organizers of the protest, held a sign stating, “Love thy neighbor: Muslim, Mexican, poor.”
“We are standing here to show people in Valdosta they have allies,” Crawford said. “We don’t all feel the same way Mr. Trump does.”
At least one person was ejected from the event. Near the end of his speech, Trump asked security to remove a person who yelled a remark, but it was unclear what was said.
Trump has a substantial lead among Republican voters going into the Georgia primary Tuesday. Georgia voters will cast ballots along with voters in Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas and seven other states.
If Trump all but secures his nomination with Super Tuesday victories, he may face a tough general election opponent in Hillary Clinton.
According to a NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll, Clinton would have a 10 point lead over Trump if the election were held today.
