Topline
Thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump were left stranded at Eppley Airfield in Omaha for hours following Trump’s campaign event at the venue on Tuesday, leading to at least seven people getting hospitalized.
Many Trump supporters were left stranded at the event venue for more than three hours after the ... [+]
Key Facts
After the President left the venue aboard Air Force One, many of the attendees — who had already waited longer than four hours to hear him speak — stood in freezing temperatures on a private road in the middle of the airport, Iowa Starting Line reported.
Buses that were supposed to ferry the attendees from the airport road to a distant parking lot, couldn’t navigate the jammed airport roads, according to the Washington Post.
Omaha Scanner, which monitors police radio, reported that two groups of elderly Trump supporters who were struggling in the freezing weather needed assistance from the police, with one of the groups frozen in the cold and unable to move.
At least seven people were hospitalized after the event.
The Trump campaign told Omaha World-Herald’s Aaron Sanderford that there were “plenty of buses” but they were delayed by the two-lane airport access road.
According to Sanderford’s tweets, however, Air Force One took off from the airport at 9:06 pm local time, while the last of the stranded individuals only managed to leave well after midnight.
Chief Critic
Megan Hunt, a Democratic State Senator from Omaha slammed the president following the incident, tweeting: “Supporters of the President were brought in, but buses weren’t able to get back to transport people out. It’s freezing and snowy in Omaha tonight.” She then added “What people will do for this con man, what people have sacrificed, is so sad to me. He truly does not care about you.”
Key Background
Trump, who is trailing his Democratic opponent Joe Biden in polls, has conducted multiple crowded rallies across the country despite the risk of Covid-19. Research by the Center for American Progress this month found that more than two dozen coronavirus cases were directly connected to Trump rallies since June, while many of his rallies between June and September are thought to have triggered community spread, according to that analysis. Trump’s rallies have seen maskless crowds who are often packed closely together, violating Covid-19 safety guidelines put out by his own administration. Biden and Democrats have taken a different approach, staging drive-in movie theater-style rallies with a limited number of people who are seated in their vehicles.
Further Reading
Trump Supporters Left Stranded At Freezing Omaha Airport (Iowa Starting Line)
Hundreds of Trump supporters stuck in the cold for hours when buses can’t reach Omaha rally (Washington Post)
