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President Donald Trump's Mesa Rally Drew Few Protesters

The scene outside President Donald Trump’s rally Friday night at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport was starkly different than the one in downtown Phoenix last year.

The handful of protesters who made the trip to the far East Valley were loud and proud. But their voices were no match for the sea of the president’s backers, who walked by on their way to the venue.

People waited in line for hours. Many didn’t get seats inside the hangar where the president spoke, and many in the overflow area left while Trump was still speaking. Lots of them couldn’t hear, said Nicholas Hodges.

“I would just say it’s more of poor audio-reception, poor planning, on the airport’s part,” Hodges said. “But honestly I don’t think they were expecting this much, or these many supporters to come out in favor of the president.”

A Mesa Police Department spokesman said there were no arrests.

Matthew Casey has won Edward R. Murrow awards for hard news and sports reporting since he joined KJZZ as a senior field correspondent in 2015.