Trump supporters, protesters clash in Pittsburgh
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leaves the stage after speaking Wednesday at a campaign rally in Pittsburgh.
Humorous anti-Donald Trump campaign signs are displayed Tuesday in Dr. Eric Rickin’s yard in Fox Chapel. Rickin decided to speak out against Trump’s Pittsburgh campaign stop with some Pittsburgh-style digs, including Heinz ketchup and using chairs to save on-street parking spaces.
PITTSBURGH – A Donald Trump rally in Pittsburgh drew thousands to a downtown convention center Wednesday evening – as well as hundreds of protesters who gathered outside the venue, chanting and waving signs.
As Trump’s supporters filed out at the end of the rally, the two sides engaged in heated verbal confrontations, with supporters chanting “USA!” and “Build that wall!” and protesters shouting profanities. Police in riot gear separated the sides.
Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Emily Schaffer said there were some minor injuries, including to police officers, but she did not have additional details.
Among those hurt was an 18-year-old Trump supporter who was observed being led to an emergency medical services van and receiving treatment after he was pepper-sprayed in the face by a man his friends identified as a protester.
PITTSBURGH – A doctor showed his displeasure with Donald Trump’s campaign stop Wednesday in Pittsburgh by posting signs playfully suggesting the Republican presidential candidate doesn’t respect city icons and customs.
Dr. Eric Rickin, a psychiatrist who lives in Fox Chapel, displayed a custom-made sign in his yard that declares, “Trump Likes Hunt’s Ketchup,” a competitor to the Pittsburgh-based Heinz brand. Another says, “Trump Moved My Parking Chair,” a reference to the practice of using chairs to save on-street parking spaces.
Rickin displayed the signs ahead of an evening visit by the Republican front-runner to tape a Fox News television appearance at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall, near the University of Pittsburgh campus, followed by a rally at the city’s convention center.
“I feel his whole campaign and his positions are absurd. But when you try to argue with logic, it doesn’t really work,” Rickin said.
Chatham University food studies Professor Alice Julier said the ketchup insult and another sign that says “Trump Hates Pierogies” Polish dumplings popular in the region are “so Pittsburgh.”
“In Pittsburgh, what defines you as a person and a place is how people feel about their food,” Julier said. “Mixing local food loyalty with questioning whether a politician would support it is a cool way of bringing people together.”
Trisha Cunningham, a volunteer at Trump’s campaign office in nearby Monroeville, said she “really got a kick out of the signs,” which she called “funny” and “comical.”
“I find it absurd that someone would use `absurd’ to fight `absurd,”‘ she said.