Editor’s Note: The Austin Daily Herald interviewed these individuals prior to President Trump’s rally scheduled for today. The publication intends to follow up with these individuals again to share their experiences afterward for Saturday’s edition.

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With President Donald Trump visiting downtown Rochester today, Austin residents are preparing to go see the Commander-in-Chief up close and in person, whether it is to support him…or to protest.

When Isaac Zerke, 14, and an Austin High School freshman, heard the news that Trump would be making a stop at Mayo Civic Center, he wanted the opportunity to go see the president in person. Having been part of the History Bee, Zerke expressed that his attending the rally was more driven by the idea that a president hasn’t been to southern Minnesota since 2011, rather than something political.

“I mean, President Trump went to Duluth,” he said. “But, there was nothing in our area.”

Listening to podcasts and catching up with the daily news, Zerke was pretty well updated on what has been happening in the political sphere involving President Trump.

Zerke plans to attend with his grandmother and will head out to Rochester with her to go see Trump. He shared that his parents were either working, or not supportive of the president and would have planned to stay home to care for Zerke’s siblings.

“Well, they always sort of knew I like political stuff,” he said. “They weren’t surprised that I wanted to go see the president. They asked if I support him, and I do because he’s the president, not because he was a political leader. I’m interested in seeing what the future looks like after his term. I’ve heard stuff about the rallies and was interested in experiencing one.”

However, being an observer of history, Zerke stated that he wanted to make up his own mind about Trump and attend to hear what the president had to say about the state of the country and other political issues ranging from immigration, economics, and more.

“I’m thinking maybe hearing him in person will change my point of view about him,” he said. “I guess he’s doing all right. I just think he should keep his mouth shut sometimes. I’m gonna make up my mind when I go see him.”

‘He’s our president’

Roland Smith of Austin, an ex-military man, reserved his tickets for the rally on Thursday. For him, seeing the Commander-in-Chief was something that he looked forward to. Smith planned to attend with a group of four or five friends up in Rochester that day.

“I’m kind of excited,” he expressed. “There’s just so much non-support for him. I’m thinking it’d be neat to be around people who are supportive and to experience that.”

He described his daughter to be “ very anti-Trump,” and family members such as his wife and other children were considered to be relatively “neutral” surrounding his planned visit to go see the president in downtown Rochester. Smith was aware that protests were planned for Thursday, but said that he wasn’t too concerned about the demonstrations.

“I’m not confrontational,” he said. “I’m gonna ignore it, and they have the right to their own opinion. Whether people like it or not, he’s our president. We should support him as our president. It’s like asking the pilot to fail, and we’re all on board.”

‘I’m proud to go’

When the announcement of President Donald Trump’s rally coming to Rochester broke out, Beth Jensen had felt it was finally her chance to go see the president in person.

Jensen had seen Trump’s rallies televised on national news circuits, and wanted to experience one for herself. When she heard that the GOP presidential candidate who she supported during the 2016 election was coming to southeast Minnesota, the Austin woman immediately reserved tickets to go see him on Thursday, Oct. 4, at Mayo Civic Center.

“I didn’t think he’d come to a smaller town,” she said. “I was very excited to go see him. I’ve seen him all on TV, so this is the first (rally I’m going to).”

For Jensen, she was a lifelong democrat before casting a vote for Trump. She said that many of her family members and friends weren’t so thrilled with her choice, but she expressed her indifference to their opinions.

“I like him,” she insisted. “I just like what he’s doing and he knows what exactly is happening and appreciate all the hard things he’s doing to change things and to build a wall.”

There were already plans for protests circulating across social media for those who were against Trump to meet him at Mayo Civic Center, yet, Jensen was undeterred by it. Despite having a decent number of her loved ones who expressed their disapproval of Trump, Jensen looked forward to being with others who shared her views and supported the president.

“I could care less,” she said. “Yell and scream. I don’t care. I’m proud to go. I am almost afraid to say that I like Trump because people get very upset when I say something positive about him. I can’t wait to go and share the positive of him with other people. I do have a few people who do, but not a whole lot.”

Jensen found it difficult to talk to her family and friends about her decision to support Trump and his policies. She was a democrat her entire life, and during the 2016 election, she made the choice to vote against her party.

“It’s hard to explain,” Jensen said. “It just seems like everything before (Trump), everyone was boring. I never understood anything. I didn’t care to listen to anybody and nobody did anything. I wanted to be interested in it, but everything was like a secret. Now, he’s changed things to where I understand a lot more and I’m interested.”

‘The heart of our protest’

There were those interested in attending the rally, and then there were those who were adamant about attending the rally in Rochester — to protest.

Missie Lindberg of Austin, and a student of Riverland Community College, was less than enthusiastic that Trump was making a stop in downtown Rochester.

“I probably said ‘oh barf’ out loud and rolled my eyes,” Lindberg said. “Then, I jumped right on the Google machine and requested my two tickets to guarantee at least two empty seats at the rally, and encouraged everyone else I know to do the same.”

Taking additional measures, Lindberg had also ordered and obtained “Baby Trump” helium balloons and a helium tank to haul up to Rochester. There, she planned to inflate the balloons during the protest that was scheduled in the afternoon prior to the rally.

Her reasonings for protesting Trump were based on the allegations of sexual misconduct that were made by more than a dozen women against him, as well as his words that were captured on the “Access Hollywood” tape that appeared to have him making obscene comments toward women, and the ongoing investigation of his Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual assault, and as of Wednesday, Trump had mocked Dr. Christine Blasey Ford during one of his rallies.

“The girls I’m going with, including myself, are all over 40 and know what we’re talking about and protesting as well,” Lindberg said. “Women’s rights are the heart of our protest.”