Toward the end of Donald Trump's speech in Bloomington Sunday, the Republican presidential front-runner invited a rally attendee on to the stage. Trump said it wasn't a scripted moment, and he was in hopes the Secret Service would allow the guest to approach, who was wearing a T-Shirt with the words, "Legal Immigrant For Trump."
"Bring him on up," said Trump, who had spotted Alex Stypik among the rally throng. Stypik was allowed by Secret Service officers to approach the podium and make comments.
It turns out WGLT's Judy Valente spoke with the impromptu guest that many national media called an "unidentified supporter." They spoke as he was waiting in line to get into the Synergy Flight Center Sunday. Stypik lives in the Chicago area.
"My father immigrated to the United States from a communist country. It took us nearly 10 years to become U. S. citizens. We did it by the book, " said Stypik.
His appearance was an apparent highlight of the event, if you use social media as a measuring stick. Nate Carpenter, director of Illinois State University's Social Media Analytics Command Center, said, "Many alternative news sites captured the moment on YouTube or some other web stream, and Trump supporters immediately shared it."
Carpenter said, while there was a huge spike in usage at that point, it will take several days for the analytics to quantify the moment.
