Flags billowed from car windows and beeping horns blended with a few chants of “four more years,” as hundreds of cars drove past the Tennessee State Capitol for a parade in support of President Donald Trump on Sunday.
The Middle Tennessee Mega MAGA Trump Victory Parade started in various locations across the mid-state and converged in Nashville’s downtown starting around noon. For about an hour, cars decked out in Trump gear lined Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Several riders wore cardboard Trump cutouts. Others waved signs from their windows and blasted country songs, including “God Bless the U.S.A.”
More cars and trucks passing through. One Uber driver stops in the street to take photos. pic.twitter.com/uyVHFvixv6
— Samantha Max (@samanthaellimax) November 1, 2020
“We love everyone!” one woman shouted from her car as she rode by. A few others heckled a handful of onlookers that had gathered on the sidewalk to take photos. But for the most part, the procession was fairly quiet, save for the occasional bout of horn-honking.
Five counter-protesters gathered outside the Capitol to encourage people to vote for Democratic candidates.
Called the Nashville Red Cloaks, the group dressed in the style of characters from the dystopian novel and television show “The Handmaid’s Tale,” in protest of Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court. They said the protest was part of a national movement that emerged after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death to advocate for women’s rights.
As the parade passed by, the demonstrators quietly held signs supporting reproductive rights, Black Lives Matter, climate justice and LGBT rights. At one point, a man walking by on the street started to sing beside the protesters. One woman in a car covered with Trump 2020 stickers and flags yelled statistics about abortion out her window.
It wouldn’t be Nashville if someone didn’t break into song… pic.twitter.com/wwokb2G186
— Samantha Max (@samanthaellimax) November 1, 2020
The cars then made their way toward Opryland for a “rally and socializing with other Solid Trump Supporters,” according to an advertisement for the event on Facebook. The event was organized by Rick Williams, a local Republican operative who has helped lead several conservative advocacy efforts in town, including Save our Fairgrounds.
Williams did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Samantha Max is a Report for America corps member.
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