The Pearl River County Executive Committee and the Pearl River County Republican Women held a joint fundraiser for Donald J. Trump on Thursday at Southern Char Steakhouse.
Southeast Regional Director for the Trump Campaign Dane Maxwell spoke at the event, urging attendees to vote for Trump.
“You have two choices in this election. You’re either voting for Trump, or you’re voting for Hillary; there’s no middle ground here,” Maxwell said.
He encouraged voters to get involved in what he called a historical time.
“One day, you’re going to look back on this and you’re either going to say, ‘I was part of changing America to save our families and our grandchildren,’ or ‘I sat on the sidelines and passed up a very historical opportunity,’” Maxwell said.
After working on 28 campaigns, Maxwell said the Republican Party is now united, but, “we have a hill to climb because this is not an easy win.”
Maxwell said the way to win the election is to get supporters out there to vote, even in the non-battleground state of Mississippi.
“The fact is he’s going to build a wall; Mexico’s going to pay for it,” Maxwell said. “There’s a thousand ways for Mexico to pay for this wall…all of us are going to sit around and say we should do that.”
He also outlined some of Trump’s statements about the oil industry, saying Trump plans to build the Keystone pipeline and remove government restrictions on energy production.
Those moves, Maxwell said, would generate billions of dollars in GDP and hundreds of thousands of jobs.
“You have to have a lot of faith and a lot of trust that we are heading in the right direction,” Maxwell said. “From rural Mississippi, this could make or break us from now on.”
Maxwell also criticized President Barack Obama, saying the country has lost 6 million jobs due to increased regulations under his administration.
“You’ve got a guy who’s going to build a wall and stop illegal immigration…you’ve got a guy who’s going to say ‘Islamic terrorist,’ he’s going to call it what it is…and he’s going to go over there and destroy them if they mess with us,” Maxwell said.
In his meetings with Trump, Maxwell said, they have discussed how he would handle being commander in chief.
Maxwell said Trump’s response was that he would listen to the generals who have led the best military in the world for over 200 years.
He also said Trump stated he would double the size of the military and give them tools to fight the wars.
“We’re not rebuilding schools, we’re not rebuilding houses. Our job is to go over there, destroy our enemy and come home,” Maxwell said to loud applause from the audience.
Maxwell quoted an old phrase of Sarah Palin when she was running for vice president, “Drill, baby, drill.”
“Guess what’s going to happen, we’re going to be drilling. Mr. Trump is a believer in tapping into our own resources and not being dependent on other countries for our own energy needs,” Maxwell said, again as the audience clapped loudly.
As he wrapped up his speech, Maxwell encouraged the audience to volunteer for the campaign, or donate what they could to spread Trump’s message.
“When you take away a vote and you just sit at home…, or vote for a third party, you’re taking away from Trump; you’re giving Hillary ammunition,” Maxwell said.