Marsha Hayes tests media narrative at Donald Trump rally in Park City

When retired rural mail carrier, retired community college English teacher, and award-winning equine journalist Marsha Hayes drove down through the Flint Hills toward Wichita on October 19, she packed a fair amount of Midwestern naivete. As detailed in a column published by the Kansas Reflector and mirrored on Yahoo News, Hayes set out to attend a Donald Trump political rally in Park City to test the validity of the national media narrative firsthand.

Barbecue, Brisket, and the Political Pulse of Wichita

Before heading to the Heartland Credit Union Arena, Hayes made a detour into Wichita’s Old Town. Finding Station 8 closed, she settled on Bite Me BBQ, where the walls still harbor decades of woodsmoke aroma. A chalkboard menu offering an all-you-can-eat fish special on a Monday raised some immediate skepticism, but the brisket dinner ultimately left her convinced that America’s culinary and cultural foundations remain strong regardless of partisan politics.

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At the half-full restaurant, workmen in safety vests joked about their jobs while a young customer service manager described a surprisingly stable personal life. Her husband had purchased a small house at age 21, and they now plan to use that equity to buy a larger home. Yet, reflecting the complex pressures facing working families, the manager noted that she might skip voting in the midterm elections entirely due to her work schedule and her son’s needs.

Locked Out of the Arena and Tuning In Remotely

By 2 p.m., four hours before the scheduled event, Hayes arrived at the Park City facility. Despite a steady line of cars moving smoothly into a designated casino parking lot, she encountered a surprising lack of ostentatious political gear. Few attendees wore red hats, though many sported red Kansas City Chiefs shirts. The crowd remained orderly and entirely focused on reaching the venue.

Marsha Hayes tests media narrative at Donald Trump rally in Park City — Photo: yahoo.com

Those hopes were quickly dashed. The arena had already reached full capacity, and parking lot refugees advised latecomers that they would either have to watch an outdoor screen or stream the event digitally. Taking the advice of a neighboring driver, Hayes downloaded the Rumble app in her parked car and watched the proceedings live.

Fact-Checking the Podium from the Parking Lot

What unfolded on the screen proved both compelling and deeply unsettling. As wholesome-looking families cheered and waved flags, Trump delivered a speech marked by frequent falsehoods and aggressive rhetoric. He mistakenly referred to Derek Schmidt as “Eric,” a gaffe the crowd cheered right alongside his frequent use of the word “hate.” When protesters heckled the president, he dismissed them by claiming, “I can tell by the voice they get paid,” drawing immediate applause from the devout audience.

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Particularly jarring was Trump’s explanation regarding Roger Marshall’s history of suing patients for back payments, with the president asserting from the stage that such actions were mandated by law. When Hayes later consulted physician friends, they laughed off the claim as entirely false. Further compounding her dismay were claims regarding public schools transitioning children without parental consent.

Struck by the sincerity and force of Trump’s delivery—noting that the false claims sounded utterly convincing in the moment—Hayes pulled away from the parking lot in search of coffee. Left with swirling questions about the state of truth, free press, and democracy, the veteran educator stepped back from the digital broadcast, left wondering how a divided electorate can look at the same political environment and see entirely different realities.