Family from JD Vance’s hometown in Ohio waits in cold, noisy DC lines

On By Littum

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WASHINGTON, DC – Thousands of Donald Trump supporters lined up for hours Sunday hoping to catch a glimpse of the president-elect. Braving cold temperatures and rowdy crowds, one family traveled from Middletown, Ohio, the hometown of incoming Vice President JD Vance.

“Middletown gets a bad rap, so it’s something to finally turn that around,” said Kelley Carter, who traveled to D.C. with her husband and 9-year-old son. “We have Olympians, we now have a VP. I just think it’s amazing.”

Kelley and Corey Carter hope seeing Vance become vice president will inspire their son, Miles.

“As a mom, what better message can I tell him? It’s my job to look at him and say, ‘You can be anything you want to be,'” Kelley said. “So now I can bring him here and say, ‘You could even be vice president, because look, a guy from your town ended up being one’. So dream big, kid!”

The Carters lined up outside Capitol One Arena at 8 a.m. Sunday, hoping to get into Trump’s victory rally. Tens of thousands of people lined up with them, but the arena only holds 20,000 people.

The rally began around 15 and featured several of Trump’s usual celebrity fans – such as Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, Dana White and Elon Musk. Vance did not show up for the event.

Most people, after waiting in line for hours, were turned away. Kelley Carter said they chose to get out of line after a fight broke out and people started pushing to get to the front.

Trump’s supporters were back in line outside the arena before 6 a.m. Monday morning, this time hoping to see the inauguration. The investiture ceremony was moved inside to the Capitol Rotunda due to extreme cold, and supporters will be able to watch the ceremony live-streamed inside the arena.

But again, with even colder temperatures expected on Monday, most of those waiting in line won’t get inside.

Kelley Carter said her family will try again to enter the arena. She said the trip has been worth it even though they are unable to attend an event. Miles said he was also excited to go to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and see a 7-Eleven convenience store.