CHESTER, Vt. (WCAX) – Dozens of supporters gathered in the Windsor County town of Chester following a rally supporting President Trump and his agenda.
Rally attendees rejected characterizations of Trump as authoritarian, instead framing his return to office as necessary leadership.
“He is not a king. He doesn’t want to be a king. We don’t look at him as a king. We look at him as a leader,” said Gregory Thayer of ‘Vermonters for Vermont’.
Supporters contended former President Joe Biden overextended his authority and said the second Trump administration represents a political course correction.
“I think we got away from the constitution under the Biden administration and I think we’re getting back to it now. Less government, that’s the intent. We have a $37 trillion dollar debt, absolutely unsustainable,” said Gerald Malloy, a former Republican candidate.
Despite thousands of Vermonters protesting what they see as an erosion of constitutional rights, rally attendees said they are focused on local issues. The last election cycle handed Vermont’s GOP some of the biggest gains per capita in the country, driven in part by a pro-affordability message.
Saturday’s rally emphasized the need to boost local fundraising and candidate recruitment while criticizing policies crafted in Montpelier during Democratic supermajority control.
Speakers highlighted concerns about a safe injection site pilot, potential costs on Vermonters’ heating bills to meet carbon reduction mandates, and various public safety problems.
“The cost of rent, the cost of fuel to heat our houses, just the cost of living here,” said Hank Poitras, Brattleboro Town Republican Committee chair.
The rally, dubbed “Red on the Green,” comes as Vermont political parties undergo reorganization — a grassroots reshuffling allowing new faces to get involved in leadership at local, county and state levels.
