Not So Fast: In One Rural Town, Trump Experiences Slippery Foothold

By Jessica Allee, Reader Supported News

25 October 18

Residents are confronted with the hate and fear that a Trump visit brings to a rural town on the southern edge of the Midwest

n extremely tight and hotly contested race for House Representative in Illinois’s 12th is stirring up waters in the state. Incumbent Republican Mike Bost is reported to be virtually tied with rival Brendan Kelly, a Democrat with much of the same credentials. However, Bost will be getting a helping hand from the White House this week as Trump visits to boost his chances of winning re-election. The president has been using this midterm tactic across the country in an effort to shore up support for Republican control of the House. It seemed that even the small town of Carbondale would not be spared the appearance of a comb-over in diapers.

Carbondale is a small town in the southern portion of the state. It lies on the murky borders between the Midwest and the historic South. Home to Southern Illinois University, it has a rich history of resistance to racism, and a legacy of inclusion at the university. It also enjoys robust communities of activists fighting for social and environmental justice and immigrants’ rights. Great efforts have been made here to defend the humanity of the poor and minorities in this region known as Little Egypt.

So when city communication about a potential visit from President Trump was leaked this Friday, active residents went into full resistance mode. Leading the initial response was City Council member Adam Loos, who drafted a defiant resolution for consideration at the upcoming council meeting. The resolution stated that the City of Carbondale should unequivocally reject Trump and make it clear that he is a fascist persona non grata: “the proper term for politicians who gain and maintain power by scapegoating and demonizing racial and ethnic minorities, women, people with disabilities, and immigrants is ‘fascism.’” Social media started buzzing with support for the resolution, and local citizens talked about exercising their voices in favor of the resolution at the council meeting. Unfortunately, by the end of that business day, the city’s mayor, Mike Henry, canceled the meeting, citing the potential for “civil disobedience … from both the side supporting the visit and those against it.”

What was odd about Mayor Henry’s stated reason for canceling the council meeting was that no one on the left was talking about disruption. An organizer at Flyover Social Center (a community space “dedicated to freedom, dignity, and equality”) reported that the call to city council in support of Loos’s resolution didn’t happen until 11 p.m., well after the mayor had canceled the meeting. Was Henry in fact shutting the meeting down because the city sees public feedback as “civil disobedience?” Or was he shielding his sources on potential right-wing threats from the general public?

The timing of the cancellation was also critical, given that the city council was about to make an important decision regarding a proposed solar project on a historically toxic superfund site, which is located in a disenfranchised African-American neighborhood. Convenient timing. More egregious was City Manager Gary Williams’s statement that Trump’s visit would hopefully coincide with an announcement about the city being awarded federal grant money, and how this was politically motivated. “Considering the regional economic impact of our multimodal project and the White House’s favorable policy toward infrastructure projects, we believe that it’s a real possibility that if he comes, he could make the announcement to further enhance Rep. [Mike] Bost’s value to the region.” If the timing of Trump’s stump speech and the grant announcement coincide, this is a clear tactic to bolster support for a threatened incumbent Republican. 

Residents rallied around the shutdown of the meeting and called for a city assembly in its place. However, with the mayor’s opaque comments, there was also a question of fascist right-wing backlash. Communities began to receive contact from extremist organizations and Trump supporters. On Saturday morning the Flyover Social Center received a business card from the Patriot Front, an ADL-recognized fascist and white supremacist group known for torch marches. In this same weekend, the center also received an email threatening violence against Latinx people.

Bost’s office confirmed on Sunday that Trump is coming for a public rally. However, the location has now been shifted to a nearby airport, fifteen minutes away in the town of Murphysboro. Trump won’t even need to leave the airport as he stumps for the Republican in a hangar. Some see this location shift as a win for Carbondale’s progressives. However, many others know it is only a bait-and-switch strategy to keep the fascist spectacle alive just down the road.

Hundreds of people joined on Tuesday night for an energized assembly on the steps of Carbondale’s Civic Center. Councilman Loos read the resolution aloud and the crowd made a unanimous vote to pass it. Whether binding or not, it was a significant stance in rejecting the president and the negative values he represents. Numerous organizations were represented, with speakers talking on a range of topics from environmental and racial justice to immigrants’ rights, transgender rights, and veterans’ rights. Oneida Vargas, a DACA recipient and senior at SIU Carbondale, shared her family’s experience of coming to the US, saying: “We are undocumented, not because we want to be, but because we don’t have a path to citizenship.” Bonnie Burton told the The Southern Illinoisan about Representative Bost’s unwillingness to meet with his constituents in the region and asked if he “wants to protect us from Satan, why is he bringing Trump here?”

The answer to this question is simple. Trump no longer feels welcome in metropolitan areas, which are solid blue or at least leaning that way. Even the more conservative suburbs are seeing a decline in support for the president. Jenna Johnson wrote in The Washington Post that Trump is focusing more now on speaking in small rural areas throughout the country where tight midterm races exist and crowds are favorable to his message. Unfortunately for Trump and his lackeys, the number of places in the US where this is possible is shrinking. Tuesday’s public assembly was a rallying point for people living in this region who feel Trump’s presence and rhetoric fuel hatred wherever he goes. It was also a reminder that there will be a defiant presence for his visit to southern Illinois on Saturday.  

Jessica Allee is a staff editor for Reader Supported News as well as an editor for Red Wedge Magazine.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.