Last week, former President of the United States Donald Trump visited the Quad Cities. Trump arrived in Davenport, Iowa on March 13 to give a speech on his “America First Education Policy” at the Adler Theatre.

The Adler Theatre has a capacity of around 2,400 people, and most seats in the theater were taken. On his website, Trump claimed that 3,500 supporters attended the rally with thousands more overflowing in downtown Davenport.

During the rally, Trump discussed policies he wants to focus on this upcoming election year. This included limiting voting to one day only, lowering the price of fertilizer and protecting medicare and
social security.

“I will put workers first, farmers first and, above all, America first,” Trump said.

In preparation for politicians coming to the area to campaign in the 2024 election, it’s important for students to be aware of politics, and more importantly, political candidates’ policies, according to Delaney Farwell, a senior at Augustana College and President of the school’s Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter.

“It’s really important to have at least some grip on the news and current events. We’re about to become the generation that is going to start entering these offices and begin having a little more power if the doors open,” Farwell said. Matt Ardaugh, a First-Year student at St. Ambrose University, attended the “America First” Event. Ardaugh, in agreement with Farwell, says it is important to educate yourself on various policies.

“Politics are our future. These candidates we are voting for and supporting in 2024 are our future. This will be the first presidential election we’ll be able to vote in so it’s important to be conscious voters that actually know what we’re voting for,” Ardaugh said. “And getting involved and voicing our opinion because we’ll be making a diference in the future.”

At Augustana, there are multiple ways to get involved in politics on campus. This includes joining organizations such as the Augustana Republicans or Young Democratic Socialists of America.

“We have a huge [focus] on political education. Socialism… is a topic that a lot of people don’t know about and they have a lot of misconceptions about it. So we are trying to destigmatize that word, especially on campus and give people the vocabulary to be able to take those conversations out-
side of the classroom,” Farwell said.

No matter what side an individual lines up with politically, young people agree it is important to know what their candidates want to accomplish and whether their candidate is the right ft for them. This can include policy and ideals.

“The future is now! We got to start acting now. We got to learn, we got to be conscious, we have to know what policies were fighting for… We don’t want to be in another recession, and it’s going downhill right now. If we can get these economics back on track, things will be better hopefully,” Ardaugh said.

A few days prior to Trump’s “America First” Event, Ron DeSantis, current Florida governor and possible presidential candidate, also came to the Quad Cities.

Voting for the next Presidential election will begin later on in 2024. Before then, Quad Citizens can expect to see other candidates come to the area to rally their bases.

Editor’s note: Delaney Farwell formerly worked
for the Observer