Four years had passed since the 45th president visited the state of Alabama. For then-incoming Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP) chairman John Wahl, bringing Donald Trump back to the Yellowhammer State was atop the agenda.
Wahl told Yellowhammer News that during his campaign to head the state Republican Party, it was evident that party membership longed for Trump to return to the state.
“The idea for the party to bring Donald Trump to Alabama got started back while I was running for chairman,” said Wahl. “As I was talking to voters on the campaign trail it became clear how how much they wanted Donald Trump back in Alabama.”
Honoring the wishes of state executive committee members, Wahl took the desires of the conservative grassroots as a mandate. “I literally started working to bring Donald Trump to Alabama the day after I was elected as chairman the end of February,” stated Wahl.
The party’s attempts to bring the former president back to Alabama earlier this year were to no avail. “The original concept was for a spring event, but timing and other logistical issues never quite worked out,” said Wahl.
The party had attempted to solidify USS Alabama Battleship Park as the venue which would host the former president. However, due to delay tactics and the lack of communication from the USS Alabama Battleship Commission, a rally in Mobile would never come to pass.
“We than started looking at an event around the 4th of July holiday, and everybody loved the patriotic nature of the USS Alabama in Mobile. We had a date and location, but it was not meant to be,” he outlined.
Wahl said persistence was key in ensuring a rally would eventually come to fruition.
“It was very frustrating when the Rally in Mobile fell though, but I am not the kind of person who gives up easily, and neither is Donald Trump,” declared Wahl.
He added, “Donald Trump has been incredibly supportive of the Alabama Republican Party, and when he heard there was a chance to do a Rally in conjuration with the party’s summer meeting he said yes. We knew what we wanted to do, but still had to find a way to make it happen. There are not many venues in the state and can handle a record political event with tens of thousands of people.”
Were you there? #TrumpInAlabama
#SaveAmericaRally Photo Credit ?: @cullmandaily pic.twitter.com/X9XVb28Npx— ALGOP (@ALGOP) August 22, 2021
Wahl noted that Cullman was the ideal venue to host the former president, as Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District is the nation’s most favorable district for Trump.
“In the end Cullman was chosen, and it was a fitting place right in the middle of CD 4. Trump’s best congressional district in the country for both 2016 and 2020,” he concluded.
Wahl earned the adulation of the former president as Trump announced to rally-goers that the party had raised an impressive $1.7 million, saying “Oh, this guy is amazing.”
ALGOP officials say updated estimates of the rally’s attendance could be as high as 50,000. The strong attendance alongside the party’s record-breaking fundraising haul proved the rally to be a success for the first-term ALGOP chairman.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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