About 150 protestors assembled a few blocks away and marched together to the Donald Trump rally, carrying signs and chanting.
Cynthia Deboutinkhar of Columbus was wearing a pink, gold and purple hijab and hennaed hands. She said she was at the Trump protest because she’s Latina, Muslim and a woman. “He has opened up a nasty dialogue. People now think it’s ok to holler anti-Muslim, anti-Latina, anti-everything at you now because, well, if this billionaire can who’s a big star, then everybody can,” she said.
Nearby was African American protestor Roger Henry of Columbus, wearing a red Santa hat in contrast to Trump’s red ball cap that bears the billionaire candidate’s slogan “Make America Great Again”. “We don’t need to make this country great again. We need to make this country great with what we have,” Henry said. “That doesn’t mean alienating black people or women or refugees, Muslims.”
Micah Naziri traveled from Yellow Springs near Springfield to Columbus. He said he was upset about Trump’s comments about a national Muslim registry, so he and his friends wore yellow felt stars pinned to their jackets and carried signs – his read: “Never again”. “As Jewish Americans, we’ve come and shown our solidarity, wearing the yellow Star of David, drawing the very obvious connection between Nazi-era policies and the ones that Trump is proposing,” Naziri said.
Amanda Patton of Columbus came dressed as a pack of birth control pills, but said there are many things about Trump that have her concerned. “Everything that he says about women, everything that he does – it’s clear that he doesn’t have respect for women, or people in general of other beliefs and faiths, and it’s scary,” said Patton.
But not everyone outside the Trump rally was in agreement. There was a small group of anti-abortion protestors, upset with Gov. John Kasich over the so-called Heartbeat Bill abortion ban. Kasich was absent – he was campaigning in Michigan – but his team kept up his attack on Trump all day with press conferences, and at the event, a truck, flyers and a plane towing a banner reading: “Ohioans Can’t Trust Trump”.
