{"id":15903,"date":"2020-01-29T03:48:42","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T08:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/?p=15903"},"modified":"2020-01-29T03:51:19","modified_gmt":"2020-01-29T08:51:19","slug":"trump-blasts-n-j-sanctuary-state-policy-gets-ovation-for-second-amendment-stance-at-wildwood-rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2020\/01\/trump-blasts-n-j-sanctuary-state-policy-gets-ovation-for-second-amendment-stance-at-wildwood-rally\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Blasts N.J. ‘Sanctuary State’ Policy, Gets Ovation for Second Amendment Stance at Wildwood Rally"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"President<\/a>

President Donald Trump and his supporters gather at the Wildwoods Convention Center, Jan. 28, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee\/Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

President Donald Trump spoke to one of his smallest rally crowds ever on Tuesday in Wildwood, but ironically it now holds the title of being the most popular rally ever in terms of demand for tickets.<\/p>\n

Only the space of the room at the Wildwoods Convention Center limited the crowd. Campaign officials said over 175,000 tickets \u2013 a new record \u2013 were requested, but the building\u2019s size limited the number of spectators to about 7,500. The more intimate space, and its amplification of cheers and jeers, also proved to be a good measure of which issues roused the most interest of those who attended. Without a doubt, Trump\u2019s comments of New Jersey \u201csanctuary state\u201d policies toward illegal immigration and his pledge to maintain the right to bear arms were the topics that drew the most excited responses.<\/p>\n

\"President<\/a>

President Donald Trump and his supporters gather at the Wildwoods Convention Center, Jan. 28, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee\/Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"President<\/a>

President Donald Trump and his supporters gather at the Wildwoods Convention Center, Jan. 28, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee\/Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cRight here in New Jersey, your state\u2019s Democrat leaders have instituted sanctuary policies that allow dangerous predators into your neighborhoods,\u201d Trump said, referencing the case of an accused child rapist who was set free<\/a> from the Cumberland County Jail despite the presence of a federal ICE detainer, and an illegal immigrant who was let out of the Middlesex County Jail and went on to commit three murders<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gov. Phil Murphy, along with Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, instituted the controversial Immigrant Trust Directive last year which precludes law enforcement from cooperating with ICE in most circumstances. The issue is now the subject of lawsuits filed by Ocean and Cape May counties. The Democratic administration says the directive helps immigrant communities by removing the fear of interacting with police, however the high-profile cases Trump referenced have prompted staunch opposition by Republicans across the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo American should ever be hurt because left wing politicians \u2013 Democrats \u2013 give sanctuary to criminal aliens,\u201d said Trump, to thunderous cheers from those attending the rally.<\/p>\n

The president also addressed the second amendment at the rally, an equally controversial subject given New Jersey\u2019s strict gun control policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur second amendment is under siege,\u201d said Trump. \u201cIt\u2019s never going to happen as long as I\u2019m president of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

That comment drew the loudest response of the night. Many rally attendees wore shirts with themes focusing on second amendment rights and some wore National Rifle Association hats and shirts.<\/p>\n

\"President<\/a>

President Donald Trump and U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew at the Wildwoods Convention Center, Jan. 28, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee\/Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"President<\/a>

President Donald Trump and his supporters gather at the Wildwoods Convention Center, Jan. 28, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee\/Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

Trump also touched on bread-and-butter issues where there may be some signs of bipartisanship in a deeply divided America. Trump took the opportunity to announce his plans to reach an agreement with Canada over the import of pharmaceuticals at much lower prices than those Americans are currently paying. He said he is \u201ccreating a pathway\u201d between the two countries where medications can be brought into the United States in low-cost generic forms.<\/p>\n

The president made sure to give a specific nod to New Jersey\u2019s southern half. The underlying purpose of the rally was to drum up support for U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2), who switched parties recently over the issue of Trump\u2019s impeachment. The GOP leadership in several counties has since endorsed Van Drew, who has long been a conservative Democrat who was enjoyed strong popularity in a Republican-leaning district as both a state legislator and congressman.<\/p>\n

\"President<\/a>

President Donald Trump and his supporters gather at the Wildwoods Convention Center, Jan. 28, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee\/Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"A<\/a>

A media section cordoned off at the Jan. 28, 2020 rally for President Donald Trump. (Photo: Daniel Nee\/Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

On Tuesday night\u2019s rally, Trump said: \u201cThey asked, \u2018should we move this to the Meadowlands?\u2019 and I said, \u2018No, I want to keep it in South Jersey.\u2019 Maybe we\u2019ll do it [the Meadowlands] in the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kellyanne Conway, a Trump aide who hails from Hammonton, spoke briefly at the rally.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. President, I think South Jersey is Trump country,\u201d to loud cheers from the audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe eyes of the world are on South Jersey,\u201d Van Drew said, thanking Trump for keeping a promise to support him after switching parties.<\/p>\n

\"President<\/a>

President Donald Trump and his supporters gather at the Wildwoods Convention Center, Jan. 28, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee\/Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Crowds<\/a>

Crowds line up and enter the campaign rally for President Donald Trump, Jan. 28, 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee\/Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

Though normally thought of as a deep blue, politically liberal state, Tuesday\u2019s event was also meant to breathe life into a state Republican party that will seek to reclaim four congressional seats lost in 2018 (one of which is Van Drew\u2019s which would need to be retained), a gubernatorial race in an effort to oust Murphy and seek legislative majorities that would seek to reduce the state\u2019s property tax burden \u2013 all over the next few years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to be a grandfather who has to visit his grandkids by cell phone because their parents can\u2019t afford to live here,\u201d state Republican Chairman Doug Steinhardt said. \u201cFamily is worth fighting for, and we have a president, Donald J. Trump, who is fighting alongside us. He\u2019s fighting for our families, he\u2019s fighting for your jobs and he\u2019s fighting for your country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump ended the rally in his traditional way \u2013 a number of slogans leading up to \u201cMake America Great Again,\u201d his signature tag line \u2013 but also had complimentary words about a state he did not win in 2016 and is not expected to win in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re tough, they\u2019re smart, they\u2019re great people,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIt\u2019s called \u2018Jersey.'\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump spoke to one of his smallest rally crowds ever on Tuesday in Wildwood, but ironically it now holds the title of being the most popular rally ever in terms of demand for tickets. Only the space of the room at the Wildwoods Convention Center limited the crowd. Campaign officials said over 175,000 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,2156,3944,942,3942,3943],"class_list":["post-15903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-brick-nj-news","tag-donald-trump","tag-jeff-van-drew","tag-new-jersey","tag-trump-rally","tag-wildwood"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/wildwood_nj_trump_rally_2020_031-scaled-e1580287562642.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgt2Ft-48v","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}