When Donald Trump’s absence was felt Wednesday night as the Republican presidential candidates clashed in a second debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, his supporters made up for it.

Hours before the debate was to begin, hundreds of Trump supporters lined the street leading to the library, waving flags and using megaphones to fill the air with chants of “Trump 2024” and “Impeach Biden,” sometimes laced with a few choices. expletives. Trump merchandise was promoted in front of the Reagan Library sign.

Dirk Wiers, a Simi Valley native, stood on a street corner waving a Trump 2024 flag and waving at cars that honked as they passed by.

Weirs Wiers

said he was ambivalent about Trump’s absence from Wednesday’s debate.

If he had been here it would have been nice, but I understand him leading so much [in the polls] that he doesn’t really have to be here,

Weirs Wiers

said.

Trump, the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination, declined to participate in the debate on Wednesday. Instead, he traveled to Detroit amid strikes by the United Auto Workers

where he and

spoke to non-union workers at an auto parts company

in Detroit

taking shots at President Biden, electric vehicles and “environmental lunatics.”

There was virtually no presence of supporters of any of the candidates

who that

actually entered the debate stage on Wednesday evening.

While Trump supporters made up the vast majority of protesters outside the presidential debate, dozens of counter-protesters also lined the streets around the Reagan Library. Some spoke out

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support for the Biden administration, while others expressed support for LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights.

A group of about 50 members of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights marched outside the site. Several dozen Ukrainian supporters waved that country’s flags, pleaded for help from both sides of the political aisle and implored Trump supporters not to “believe the Russian propaganda.” as one protester sang.

But Wiers, who stood near the pro-Ukrainian demonstrators, said there were no violent encounters between groups.

We knew there would be some Biden supporters, he said. I was surprised to see all the support from Ukraine.

A pro-Ukrainian protester and a Trump supporter got into a sharp exchange over the value of U.S. support for Ukraine, but the discussion, while heated, did not evolve into a physical confrontation.

Police could not be seen where the groups were demonstrating, but about a dozen were stationed about 50 meters from Presidential Drive, guarding vehicles heading to the library.

Lynn Featherston, also of Simi Valley, who was holding a Biden-Harris 2020 flag, said there had been no violence, but a few protesters faced homophobic and transphobic comments.

That man was really rude to some of our LGBTQ people, Featherson said, gesturing to a person dressed in Trump attire standing in the center of the median. We came as Democrats just to let them know that we don’t like their agenda.

Around 5:30 p.m., as the start of the debate approached, protesters from both sides began peeling off.

At 6:30 p.m., with the debate underway, there were only a few lone Trump supporters left.