Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump held a campaign rally at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Feb. 3.
During his 50-minute speech Trump spoke on a variety of topics such as border control, Obamacare, education, terrorism and gun control. He spent the beginning of his speech discussing the Iowa caucus and his second-place loss to Ted Cruz.
According to the Associated Press, Cruz won the Iowa primary by 3.3 more voter percentage points than Trump. At the rally, Trump said he believes Cruz cheated in the caucus by fabricating votes.
“Oh, that voter fraud,” Trump said at the rally. “These politicians are brutal. They are a bunch of dishonest cookies, I want to tell you. That’s one of the reasons I’m doing this … This political stuff is dangerous, and these political people are really, really dishonest. It’s unbelievable.”
At the Republican debate on Feb. 6, Trump and Cruz were in the same place for the first time since the allegations were made. CNN said Cruz alluded to his focus being on the South Carolina primary.
With the New Hampshire primary completed on Feb. 9, the South Carolina primary is the next election for Republican presidential candidates. Junior Whitney McDonald, a student who attended Trump’s Little Rock rally, said she hopes Trump does not have a second win in South Carolina.
“I feel like from the rally, he thinks he has a lot of supporters,” McDonald said. “Obviously he does because he’s ahead in the race, but I know so many people that do not care for him at all. I hope the actual feelings of the voters are shown in the primary.”
McDonald said Trump’s win in New Hampshire worries her because of what the win could foreshadow in the presidential election.
“He’s one step closer to the frontline of the race,” McDonald said. “I just don’t think he’d make a good president. To be president, you need to be not only smart about your decisions, but you need to be a compassionate and relatable person. The fact that he openly disrespects different races, ethnicities and genders shows that he’s not compassionate.”
Sophomore Karissa Youngblood said she disagrees with McDonald.
“I want him to continue winning, because I feel that he will be a good president and will make good decisions for our country,” Youngblood said. “He supports the Constitution and will better our debt situation. I think that he has the best interest of the American people at heart.”
The South Carolina primary will take place on Feb. 20, the same day Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have the Democratic caucus in Nevada.
