A capacity crowd filled Pittsburgh International Airport’s Atlantic Aviation hangar to attend President Donald Trump’s Moon Township Rally Saturday night. So many showed up – an estimated 5,000 - that many didn’t get in.

 

Bridgeport High School seniors Ashton Miller, Ali McDaniel and Jenna Love not only got inside, they were seen front and center on national news coverage of the event during which President Trump endorsed 18^th District Congressional candidate, Republican Rick Saccone, encouraging residents of the district to vote for him in the March 20 election.

 

But President Trump spoke about other issues too and Miller, McDaniel and Love were among those who wanted to show their support of our president and his policies.

 

“I wanted to go because I’ve been following his campaign since he announced his candidacy in 2015,” McDaniel said. “I share a lot of the same views as him and I’m excited about his plans for our country. I also wanted to experience one of his speeches first-hand before it was dissected by the media. I just turned 18 and I feel very strongly about teens getting involved and informed in politics - especially in this point in time – so I thought it was a great opportunity to support our president!”

 

An AP government student, Love said she has learned to take action and stand up for what she believes in. She also has supported President Trump through his candidacy and presidency and agrees with many of his thoughts. She also likes the fact that he has held true to most of the promises he made to our country.

 

“’Promises made, promises kept,’ was one of his campaign slogans,” Love said. “Going to this rally was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, but I was excited to see what it would be like, especially since something like this could be my future.”

 

Like McDaniel, Love said she wanted to hear his words unedited.

 

“The media really does have a major impact on how people view President Trump and being at the rally gave me a sense of how I see President Trump,” Love said. “He gave a very real and raw speech. He just talked to us and that just made me support him and his presidency more.”

 

McDaniel and Love both plan to study politics after high school graduation. McDaniel will major in broadcast journalism and minor in political science at West Virginia University. Love will major in political science at the University of Tennessee.

 

Miller will study child development and family studies at WVU, but she plans to be involved in politics. She said attending the rally was a very positive experience.

 

“The atmosphere was just awesome and everyone was so energetic,” she said.

 

Miller said she, McDaniel and Love received quite a bit of negativity on social media. Comments included those that indicated the girls were not of voting age, uneducated, paid and scripted.

 

“But it’s really the opposite,” Miller said. “All three of us are registered voters and are extremely into politics. All three of us girls have the same views and stand strong with them and we are open to hear others’ views, too.”

 

What stood out to Miller most was the genuineness and authenticity of the president.

 

“Though he is not a polished politician, we feel as if he relates to us more,” she said. “He brought great ideas to the table about our country’s opioid/drug and immigration problems. It was incredible to hear the progress that has been made with him throughout his term already. Unemployment is the lowest in history because of jobs he is creating by bringing major corporations back to America.”

 

The experience was memorable and made quite an impact on the girls. Being positioned right behind the president – among some 5,000 individuals - and being featured on national TV coverage of the event made it even better, Miller said.

 

It’s just another example of when there’s a will, there’s a way.

 

The girls purchased their tickets to the rally last weekend and headed to Pittsburgh Saturday afternoon. While waiting in line at Pittsburgh International Airport for a security check, the trio spotted Kevin Martin, national director of advancement and community engagement for Students for Trump, a student-led coalition. They introduced themselves and even got a photo with him. Martin then asked the girls if they wanted to sit in the VIP section and they, of course, accepted that invitation. Even then, they were off to one side until another official came by looking for a small party to fill in the middle section. A party of three was perfect and the local political enthusiasts were escorted to the area directly behind the U.S. president.

 

“It was just a series of events,” McDaniel said. “if we would have been 15 minutes earlier or later, we probably wouldn’t have gotten to be where we were.”