The 1 photo you need to see from Donald Trump's canceled rally in Chicago
On Friday, Republican presidential frontrunner and real estate billionaire Donald Trump postponed a planned rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago after thousands of protesters gathered outside the venue.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Trump said security concerns drove his decision after fights broke out between attendees and protesters. He told MSNBC he "felt that it was just safer ... Rather than having everybody get in and mix it up, I thought it would be a wise thing, after speaking with law enforcement, a wise thing to postpone the rally."
But according to Time, Chicago police denied they had advised Trump to cancel the rally, or even that they were involved in the decision at all.
Tribune photographer E. Jason Wambsgans caught what might be the iconic photo of the night — a Trump supporter raising her right hand in salute in an image that carries unmistakable overtones of Nazi-era Germany.
Trump cancels Chicago rally amid security concerns https://t.co/LVEGWkrAQ7#Chicago#DonaldTrump photo by @ejwambpic.twitter.com/tF1NTu8qui
— Chicago Tribune Photo (@ChiTribPhoto) March 12, 2016
The woman may not have been deliberately intending to invoke the comparison. Trump recently asked Florida voters to raise their right hands and pledge loyalty to his campaign.
Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., took to Twitter to mock the protesters as the "participation medal/micro-aggression generation" before being quickly shut down by singer-songwriter John Legend.
.@DonaldJTrumpJr I think they were protesting your racist father. This isn't complicated.
— John Legend (@johnlegend) March 12, 2016
Trump himself suggested the cancelled rally would only energize his supporters, calling the protesters "thugs."
The organized group of people, many of them thugs, who shut down our First Amendment rights in Chicago, have totally energized America!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 12, 2016
At a recent debate in Miami, the candidate responded to a question about widespread violence reported at his rallies by praising the "tremendous love and passion for the country" of his supporters and adding, "When they see what's going on in this country, they have anger that's unbelievable."
See more from the scene in Chicago:
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