A mostly cheerful crowd gathered at the foot of the west steps of the Colorado Capitol on Saturday to hear a range of activists and politicians extol President Donald Trump and excoriate “radical Progressives.”
The event, one of many across the country, was one of a series of rallies both for and against the president since he was inaugurated. A massive women's march engulfed downtown Denver in January. A few weeks later in February, thousands marched in support of Muslims and against Trump's travel ban on refugees.
Calling themselves the “silent majority,” and “deplorables,” the Trump supporters Saturday cheered the president’s proposed border wall with Mexico, his economic plans, and his choice of Neil Gorsuch to be the next Supreme Court justice.
Dozens of law enforcement officers, some in riot gear, were on hand too, separating the Trump fans from a smaller gathering of black-clad protesters.
“I think the immigration thing is great," said Ernie Andres at the rally. "You know, being here legally, that’s very important.”
Andres, who is Puerto Rican, says the rally served as a counterpoint to a series of recent anti-Trump rallies: "We're here to show that all the protests and everything that keeps coming up, we voted for him, we put him into office, it doesn't really matter what the Left says."
For Nate Johnson, “repealing and replacing Obamacare I think’s going to be a great thing," was important too. "And just being young people. I want to be out here and support our president. That shows that there are young people that do support Trump."
