The president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, was in Idaho Tuesday visiting the community of Wilder. The First Daughter was joined by Apple CEO Tim Cook. While the pair went to the small town west of Boise to see how technology was being integrated into the classroom, the visit drew both supporters and opponents of the president.
Rain and a chilly breeze wasn’t enough to deter people from standing in front of Wilder Elementary for hours. Two camps staked out real estate in front of the school and verbally sparred.
Sporting MAGA hats and images of the late Apple founder Steve Jobs, about 10 Trump supporters proclaimed their admiration for the company and the president’s daughter. They shouted, “Thank you, Apple. We love Trump!”
Ivanka Trump and Tim Cook arrived separately at the school and spent more than two hours inside. The school visit is one of several Trump has made around the country as part of her involvement with the National Council for the American Worker.
The Wilder district – one of the poorest in Idaho – was selected by Apple in 2016 to be part of a program seeking to increase access to technology. The tech company gave every student and teacher in the district an iPad.
When Trump departed the Wilder school, she was met with chants of “lock her up” and “education not deportation!”
Many of the people in front of the school opposing Trump’s visit were Latino. Estafania Mondragon was among those demonstrating.
“You know,” Mondragon says, “this is a time where the Trump Administration is gassing people on the border, and now she’s here, in a predominantly Latino town trying to do photo ops with brown children.”
Additionally, some students at Wilder told media they questioned the effectiveness of Apple’s technology push.
For more local news, follow the KBSX newsroom on Twitter @KBSX915
Copyright 2018 Boise State Public Radio