Chillicothe — Plenty of activity was outside of the Trump rally on Wednesday at Ohio University Chillicothe as thousands waited to get inside the last major Ohio Republican rally before election day.
President Donald Trump was making whirlwind tours at the end of the midterm campaign season. His visit to Chillicothe on October 28th, 2026, was his third to Ohio in this cycle.
Although I had a press pass, I did not make it into the building to watch the 7pm rally in-person…like about half of the crowd still in line by about 4pm.
The line stretched about a quarter mile from the Shoemaker Center to Quinn Library – and that didn’t include about half that much more in a labyrinth of barricades at the door.
That was fine…I found more activity of interest outside!
Maybe half a dozen vendors were selling Trump, Republican, Second Amendment, and other conservative paraphernalia from tables and carts. After asking most of them for an interview and being shrugged off, I found one willing to talk.
John Williams of Greensboro, North Carolina chatted about business and his beliefs and experience. The interview started slow, but at about 2:30 I asked him – as a black man who supports and promotes Trump – what about Democratic party claims that Republicans are unfair to minorities?
He laughed, and said that is such a ridiculous comment.
I also asked him how long he has been a capitalist. He mentioned that he has been one since he stopped being a felon, after his “hustling days.” He said he was told he couldn’t get a job, but he said he didn’t ask for help, and created his own work.
“The correction system didn’t correct me – common sense sense corrected me.”
Hear him in his own words in the video interview below.
At a back corner of the line at the OUC library I found a relatively calm argument between three teenage boys and members of the crowd.
I caught part of the debate on video, and interviewed the boys and two of the crowd members. Hear them below.
Gibson, Rory, and Levi said their own core beliefs are important, but they need to talk with others who have different beliefs, and that they wanted a learning experience. (I complimented the 15- and 14-year-olds for engaging in political debate at their age.)
Two of the men arguing with the boys said they had to compliment the three for engaging…but they had some life experience to earn.
The crowd outside watched the president and other speakers on the jumbo-display at the door. Trump clearly ad-libbed much of his rambling monologue, but still followed what were probably notes on the teleprompter, and kept to the timetable pretty well.
Local industries like Kenworth were mentioned by Trump and others. Dan Williamson of Werth PR, who handles publicity for U.S. Paper Mill., shared a brief video:
“Along with all the expected political remarks, he made a shout-out to the U.S. Paper Mill. Senator Moreno spoke before him and spoke in a little more detail about the plant. We’ve captured both comments here, if you think it’s worth sharing to your audience.”
Watch the short video clips below, from the Right Side Broadcasting Network.
Early on, a group of about 20 opponents posted themselves at the main entrance to OUC, armed with protest signs and a bullhorn – sometimes broadcasting nonsense.
Once the main rally was close to starting, they moved to the forefront near the Shoemaker Center walkway where Trump was expected to arrive – where one Trump supporter started loudly arguing with them.
Eventually about 15 security personnel walked en mass down the hill to stand closer to the crowd…but they did not have to engage.
After the start of the rally, one protestor inside was removed. “Robby Roadsteamer” video-recorded himself yelling about Epstein (and posted it to his Instagram account) before he was grabbed and escorted out to the jeers of the crowd. Jason Salley gives some insights in his story.
Later outside, a Trump supporter did punch an opponent in the face, and security had to engage. I was about 20 feet away when I heard a punch or impact on the pavement, and turned around to see a few people with smartphones at the ready rushing to join a circle of onlookers around two people struggling on the ground.
Early reports claimed that it was a stabbing, but Chillicothe Police clarified that an officer’s pocketknife had caught on the clothing of one the two, and that the knife never opened.
Hopewell Heritage Headlines posted an editorial on Facebook the next morning:
“Getting something like this wrong is not a small mistake. A false report of a stabbing at a presidential rally does not stay in Chillicothe. It makes national news, it spreads fear, and it becomes the version people remember.
“Local reporting should be local first. The job is to get it right for the people who live here, not to be first and famous everywhere else.”
See also my previous story, “Supporters at the Scene of Trump Visit to Chillicothe.”
