When Donald Trump walked out to the podium in Syracuse with the theme from “Space Jam” pulsing through the speakers above, a crowd of about 5,000 people burst into a frenzy, cheering and waving signs that read “Trump: Make America great again.”

He declared that he loves Syracuse, then spent the next hour speaking generally about the need to improve the economy through trade deals, to secure the Mexican border and to unify the nation.

Ultimately, it all boiled down to one thing: winning.

“You’re going to say, ‘Mr. President, please, we can’t stand it, the winning is too much,’” Trump told the audience at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center.

Rally-goers, many of them clad in hats and shirts emblazoned with phrases like “Make America great again,” “Trump for president” and “Build the wall,” roared with delight as Trump described an America that would win with trade, jobs, health care, the military and more under his leadership.

Trump’s polarizing brand of politics prompted enthusiasm from many and irritation from others as he stopped in Syracuse before Tuesday’s New York primary. The front-runner for the Republican presidential nominee spoke for about an hour early Saturday afternoon, hitting on topics such as the “rigged” political system and the economy.

Trump spoke without much structure, jumping from topic to topic without getting into many specifics. He said current leaders are incompetent and corrupt, told the crowd that he is a unifier and added that, as president, he would cut costs, bring back jobs and put Americans first.

“I believe in a lot of what he has to say,” said Elaine Reid, a Syracuse woman who said she attended the event to reaffirm that she was making the right choice by voting for Trump. “He wants to take care of the forgotten — our veterans, our old people and our country. He wants to return America to what it used to be.”

Trump’s speech covered similar ground to what he’s said publicly in debates and other speeches, though there was a Syracuse twist to it. He name-dropped Jim Brown at the start of his speech and mentioned “your basketball team” and its coach.

He also repeatedly talked about bringing back jobs, a subject that resonates in Syracuse, where the unemployment rate is 6.4 percent, higher than the state rate of 5.7 percent and the national rate of 5 percent.

As part of his pitch for creating jobs, Trump discussed bringing companies that went abroad back to the United States. He specifically mentioned Carrier — the air conditioner manufacturer that was based in Syracuse but recently moved most of its operations to Mexico.

The candidate has received plenty of attention for being a businessman and political outsider. Trump addressed that by harping on the idea that politicians are corrupt and incompetent. He pledged to fix the “dirty system,” while also telling people that he would unite the country.

“People don’t think of me when they think of unification,” he said. “I’m a unifier.”

Alice Hall, a volunteer for Trump’s campaign who said she was born in Syracuse and has lived there her whole life, said she wanted to help because she feels Trump is “our last chance to keep the country from sinking.” She said everyone with the campaign has been very positive and excited.

The crowd was diverse in age, with a few attendees needing wheelchairs to move, and others being pushed in strollers and being fed bottles. It was less diverse racially, with the vast majority of attendees being white. However, Trump told the crowd that he’s been popular with a range of voters.

“Men, women, young, old, African-American, white, Hispanics,” Trump said. “We love Hispanics.”

But not everyone in the audience was in love with Trump’s message. About a dozen protesters were removed from the event, the first of which was spotted and escorted out about one minute after Trump took the stage.

“Get ‘em out of here,” Trump instructed security each time, as the crowd roared with approval. An announcement before the event began instructed supporters not to touch or harm protesters, but instead to raise their signs in the air and chant, “Trump!” until the protester was removed.

Even some who didn’t actively protest admitted they weren’t there as Trump supporters.

“It’s more for entertainment value,” said Sam Kluender, a Syracuse University student at the rally. A few other SU students said they were there just to observe, not necessarily as supporters.

Before doors opened at 9 a.m., a line of more than 1,000 people stretched around the corner and down the road. As attendees waited to enter, vendors sold hats, pins and shirts that showed support for Trump or mocked Hillary Clinton. Those at the front of the line said they arrived at 4 a.m. to secure their spot.

Trump is favored in polls to win the Republican primary in New York on Tuesday, though the number of delegates he will win will depend on the number of votes he receives.

“You got to go out and you got to vote,” Trump told the crowd. “I’m going to do a great job for you folks. Just go out and vote, and you leave the rest to me.”

Published on April 16, 2016 at 1:37 pm

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27