Another Pro-Trump Rally Planned For Middletown Saturday

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — They're baaaaaack. Last year, in February 2017, at least two pro-Trump rallies were held in Middletown, as Patch reported at the time.

And the same group is back this Saturday, July 21 planning another pro-Trump event. Again, they will gather on the sidewalk at the Rt. 35 ShopRite plaza at Harmony Road from 2-5 p.m.

Organized by local Monmouth County residents Frank Cott and Edware Durfeau, the pro-Trump rally will go from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, July 21. Anyone is welcome to attend.

Last year, Patch covered one of the rallies, which attracted about 200 people despite the freezing cold of the February day. Many people driving by on Hwy. 35 and Harmony Road honked their horns in support. Immigrants to the U.S. from Peru and the Philippines attended, as did two recent Holmdel High graduates, Billy Rath and Nick King. Read what some of these Trump supporters had to say about why they support him.

Cott and Durfeau have formed groups called Monmouth County True Patriots and Americans Push Back Initiative. They say Saturday's rally is not just in support of Trump: It will also be a protest against New Jersey's Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who himself lives in a mansion in a very wealthy party of Middletown Township.

"Dozens of NJ Patriots sick and tired of the wacky progressive extremism of Mr. Murphy will protest on gun control, taxes, aiding and abetting illegals, racism and many other issues," wrote Cott in a press release for the event. "Patriots are tired of the lack of scrutiny this governor has gotten, meanwhile there is such a bias against President Trump. We are sick of the capricious and arbitrary laws made up by this governor at the expense of the people. There will be a coalition of groups at this event representing many different political spectrums ... diverse folks, all of whom are patriots."

"There are many problems in NJ with the state becoming more and more adversaries of the residents and
combined with the highest taxes and a down right disdain for conservatives (a civil rights violation), we
simply are not putting up with it," the group added.

They said they are also calling for a recall of State Senate Majority Leader Sen. Loretta Weinberg, a Democrat from Bergen County.

Trump won Middletown Twp. by a wide margin, receiving 21,267 votes compared to 12,979 for Hillary Clinton, according to 2016 voting records from the Monmouth County clerk's office.

Past coverage: Despite Cold, 200 Attend Pro-Trump Rally in Middletown Saturday

All photos taken last year by Carly Baldwin/Patch