Reading was in the national spotlight Monday.
The day before voters across the U.S. were set to cast their ballots and pick the next person to call the White House home, former President Donald Trump stopped by the Santander Arena to hold one of his final campaign rallies.
And his supporters — local fans and those who traveled from out of state — turned out to see him.
Five hours before Trump was slated to speak, a large crowd was already gathered on Penn Street, waiting in line for their chance to grab a seat inside the arena. They said they were happy to wait and excited to be a part of something they feel is so important.
Clay Brenner said he was thrilled to hear that Trump would be making his second appearance in Berks County the day before the election. He had been to the rally Trump held last month and said the atmosphere at that event was electric.
“It was just a fun experience seeing him speak the first time, so I was excited that he was coming back,” the Douglassville resident said. “Aside from it just being a good time, I really like what Trump stands for and his policies.”
Brenner said he has been a big supporter of Trump since the businessman arrived on the political scene nearly a decade ago.
“Trump is not a regular politician,” he said. “And I like that about him.”
Brenner is a fan of recent proposals Trump has put forth, such as allowing the parents of homeschooled students to open tax-free savings accounts for the cost of their child’s education up to $10,000 and providing tax breaks for family caregivers.
As someone who was a member of the homeschool community and cares for his elderly grandfather, he said those policies will have a real impact on many families he knows.
“I haven’t seen any proposals of value from the (Vice President Kamala) Harris campaign,” he said.
Diane Riffle and her 18-year-old son, Jack, said they made it a priority to get to the rally to show their support for the former president. They have seen him speak at events before and were excited that he chose Reading as one of his final campaign stops.
“It’s not every day that a presidential candidate comes to Reading,” Jack Riffle said. “It just goes to show you that Berks County voters are really important in this election. This is a pretty historic opportunity.”
He said he was ecstatic he was going to get to cast a ballot Tuesday for the very first time, and that he was going to get to do it in support of someone he admires so much.
“I’ve been to five or six of these rallies since I was 10, and now I can finally vote,” he said. “When I was younger I really liked his personality because I thought he was fun, but as I got older I started paying attention to his policies and that is why I support him now.”
Diane Riffle acknowledged there are times she wishes Trump would choose his words a little more carefully when he speaks, but she believes his brutal honesty is his biggest asset as a candidate.
“He’s honest and not everyone can take that,” she said. “And, at the end of the day, I think the media can be unfair to him. But, you know, no candidate is absolutely perfect.”
John Rentschler said he wanted to show up for Trump because he believes the former president showed up for the American people when he was in office. The Bernville resident believes the former president is the only candidate who can get the country back on track.
“If we don’t win this, our country will continue to go backwards,” he said. “In the last four years, with Kamala in charge, I haven’t seen anything good come my way. She cares more about giving things to illegal aliens than she does people like me.”
Rentchler, who served in the Army National Guard and later worked as a private contractor during Operation Iraqi Freedom, said he considers it a slap in the face that undocumented immigrants are being given precious resources while there are veterans sleeping on the street.
“Kamala isn’t fighting for people like me,” he said.
Rentschler said that when he found out Trump was going to be stopping in Berks County the day before the election, it seemed like fate. He explained that he attended a Trump rally in Hershey a few days before the 2016 election.
“Maybe I’m lucky for him,” he said with a chuckle.
Wanda Borrero said she wasn’t going to miss the rally in Reading. The West Lawn resident said Trump is the best hope many people have for realizing the American dream.
“I just think he’s going to do a better job at bringing down the skyrocketing prices of food,” she said. “I think he did a great job in his first term in office and I really haven’t seen anything I like from Kamala. She’s been there for four years and hasn’t done anything.”
Borrero, who said she is the proud daughter of parents born in Puerto Rico, said she chose to wear a hat with “PR” on it to show she was not offended by a recent joke at a Trump rally where a comedian called Puerto Rico an “island of garbage.”
“It was just a joke,” she said. “The comedian was just doing his job — trying to make people laugh. A joke is not going to change my mind about who I think is going to be a better leader for our country.”
