Trump rally draws thousands

PICKENS — It was a historic day on Saturday as tens of thousands converged upon the downtown streets of Pickens in anticipation of seeing former President Donald Trump.

The campaign staff had announced their visit just two weeks prior, sending local law enforcement and city officials spinning into action to pull off the event. When the event gates opened at 9 a.m., the line was already wrapped around the entire downtown area — over a mile long.

“We got here at 8 and we’ve moved about 75 feet in the last 45 minutes,” said Jerry Michaels, who had made the trip down to see Trump from Hendersonville, N.C. “I guess we should have left a little sooner.”

Parking was another adventure.

“I drove around forever trying to find a spot but everyone was charging $50 or more,” said Mary Connely of Easley. “I mean, I understand trying to make a buck or two but that was crazy.”

When asked if she ended up paying, she said she did but was annoyed she still had to walk “forever.”

As temperatures climbed into the 90s, another issue came to light — heat exhaustion. Pickens County Emergency Services reported over 50 cases of heat-related illness and one EMT said they had trouble reaching people who needed help because they couldn’t get through the crowds.

There was one unconfirmed report of a cardiac event on site.

Trump himself took the stage a little after 1 p.m. after a line-up of guest speakers including Gov. Henry McMaster, Sen. Lindsay Graham and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, among others.

While most were well-received, Graham was booed during the entirety of him speech prompting the Senator from Central to plead with the crowd to calm down and that he “grew up 15 miles down the road!”

Trump himself spent the majority of his time on stage defending his actions concerning the classified documents seized by federal authorities from his home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., saying the indictments were all part of a “witch hunt” and he was sure his legal team would prevail.

He also expressed confidence in his upcoming bid to reclaim the presidency.

“The extraordinary reception I received at my Independence Day rally in Pickens was like nothing I’d ever seen before. The energy was off the charts, it truly was a sight to behold,” said Trump in a statement following the rally. “Together, we sent a powerful message to the Marxists and the Deep State that our resolve to peacefully save America is unbreakable.”