Anti-Trump feelings cast aside in protest line to help man in need

Ana Draa, left, stands with other Trump protesters in Wisconsin on April 18. Photo / Courtesy of Ana Draa.

For Ana Draa, a Trump protester, the most shocking part of her coming to the aid of a fallen Trump supporter, was that others were shocked.

Draa, a 53-year-old stay-at-home mum and self-described passionate advocate for women's reproductive rights, joined a pack of protesters and supporters outside the Wisconsin manufacturing company where US President Donald Trump spoke yesterday. In the mass of people, she found herself standing next to a seated older man holding a defund Planned Parenthood sign.

The man started complaining that he wasn't feel well, and Draa, a former CPR instructor, could tell he didn't look good. He asked her to find him some ibuprofen, even offering to hold her sign, which read: "Trump, Who Are You In Bed With Because It Sure Ain't Melania. Show Your Taxes!!!"

Soon after, she heard what she described as "the sickening thud of someone's head hitting the concrete". He had said he felt faint before he passed out and toppled off his seat.

As he lay on the ground, Draa held his hand, assuring him that he would be fine, that the ambulance would be there soon to take care of him. She tried to keep him calm as another anti-Trump activist, who happened to be a nurse, also stayed by his side until emergency workers arrived.

After he was taken away in the ambulance, Draa said a local reporter asked her why she helped him.

"Why? Wouldn't you?" Draa said she responded. "He's an old man. He felt the power of his convictions and he was very respectful. We need to respect and value the humanity in each other. Just because we have different opinions it doesn't make them evil. I was really taken aback that they were shocked."

Earlier at the event, Draa said another Trump supporter was screaming obscenities at her and the other protesters. When she held up her sign in front of her face to block him from her view, she said he punched the sign. She's still shaken by that man's behaviour, but said if he had been the one who had fallen, she would have helped him, too. "It's what my faith calls me to do," she said.

Draa, who lives in Libertyville, Illinois, said she has always been politically minded, but the first time she was inspired to take her beliefs to the street was after Trump's election. In January, she flew to Houston to participate in the Women's March there. As a half-Mexican woman, Draa said there were many things about the Trump candidacy that offended her personally.

US President Donald Trump during his visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin. Photo / AP

But while the march was invigorating, she was surrounded by like-minded people there. At the protest of Trump's Wisconsin visit, despite her one negative interaction, Draa said she was heartened by the conversations she overheard between political opposites. They were animated and impassioned, but it was a dialogue, not just yelling.

"The reality is the more we talk, the more commonality we're going to find and the more we humanise each other, which is so important," she said. "I'm not saying you excuse racism or sexism, but by talking to people, that's how you break those barriers down."

Draa doesn't know how the older Trump supporter fared, but she said he's been on her mind and that she has been worried about him.

"I wish we were going to find out he was okay," she said.