Donald Trump Supporters Keep Getting Hospitalized at His Rallies
If Trump cared about the health of his supporters, he should have canceled these rallies due to the heat. But why would he care when the people turning up are too fanatical to care about their own health ?Published Jun 10, 2024 at 7:30 AM EDT
Updated Jun 10, 2024 at 9:51 AM EDT
A number of people were hospitalized during former President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Las Vegas on Sunday following similar heat-related issues during an event in Phoenix, Arizona.
The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee took to the stage in the key swing state of Nevada on Sunday amid a heat wave across western parts of the United States. The temperature in Las Vegas reached around 105 degrees Fahrenheit that day.
The Clark County Fire Department said six people were taken to a hospital, while another 24 received medical attention on site. The Associated Press (AP) reported that "most, if not all," of the calls they responded to were due to the heat. A further 97 people utilized the cooling tents emergency services set up on-site to help with the extreme heat.
Last week, the heat wave also caused 11 people who were waiting to see Trump speak in Phoenix to need hospital treatment.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's office via email for comment.
Trump's campaign team had prepared for the extreme heat at the rally in Las Vegas and announced a number of "comfort measures" for the event.
This included providing thousands of bottles of water and allowing small umbrellas to be brought on-site. Tents and misting fans were also set up around the park and in line to help people cope with the sweltering conditions, and "ample" medical staff was also present in case of emergencies.
Days earlier, on June 6, a town hall event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point USA was held in Dream City Church, where temperatures hit around 111 degrees by mid-afternoon.
The line to get in to see the former president speak started forming in the morning several hours before the event began. The Arizona Republic reported that temperatures had already reached 96 degrees by 10 a.m. and that one woman collapsed while standing in line just minutes before the doors opened.
A spokesperson for the Phoenix Fire Department told Newsweek that fire personnel transferred a total of 11 people to the hospital due to "reports of heat exhaustion."
Nevada GOP Chair Michael McDonald downplayed suggestions that the extreme conditions would cause a problem for local Trump supporters.
"This is a dry heat. This ain't nothing for Las Vegas people," McDonald told the AP. "But what it symbolizes for the rest of the United States—we will walk through hell [to elect Trump]."
The former president even joked about people being severely affected by the heat while speaking on stage on Sunday.
"By the way, isn't the breeze nice? Do you feel the breeze? I don't want anybody going on me. We need every voter," Trump said.
"I don't care about you, I just want your vote. I don't care," he added, prompting some laughter from the crowd. "See now, the press will take that, and they'll say, 'He said a horrible thing.'"
Trump also told the crowd to let staff know if they were feeling unwell, as "we have people; they'll pick you up right away."
"You know they were so worried. Everybody was so worried yesterday about you," Trump added. "And they never mentioned me. I'm up here sweating like a dog."
In October 2020, seven people were hospitalized after a late-night Trump rally at Eppley Airfield in Omah, Nebraska, where outside temperatures hit freezing point. Many of the thousands of attendees were stranded outdoors waiting for shuttle buses, while some underestimated the distance from the event to the parking lot and tried to walk back, AP reported at the time.
It is not yet known where Trump will hold his next 2024 campaign rally.
Update 06/10/24, 10:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Statistics: Posted by bilateralrope — 2024-06-12 11:07am