I would usually start an article like this with a little joke, but it’s hard to even joke about this, because it’s become an “issue” for Trumpers who make the trek to one of their Dear Leader’s rallies. Okay, maybe not specifically THIS issue, but they’re running into all sorts of things they didn’t foresee.
This is just the one that resonates the most with me, as a guy who takes a certain kind of pill for a heart issue that happens to make me pee a lot. I know you didn’t need to know that, but I’m not embarrassed, and I’ll bet that a pretty sizeable percentage of Trump supporters have heart issues as well.
It turns out that they didn’t think about the fact that a classy joint like Madison Square Garden might not automatically set up port-a-potties outside the venue like a Grateful Dead concert in a Colorado amphitheater.
In the past, the issues that Trump fans had to deal with were things like the campaign overselling tickets for the event, or the rally being held in some field with parking 5 miles away and shuttle buses to take them to the speech, only to find that the buses were done running long before they got back to their cars and they were stranded.
This time around, rallygoers were forced to pee in disposable plastic water bottles in lieu of having a bathroom to use. And they were, for lack of a better term, pissed about it.
Not at Trump, of course.
“Why didn’t they put any porta potties out here for us?” one MAGA supporter said, after describing the dire situation. “Why did the city decide not to do that? It’s like a third-world country!”
Well, “the city” does what the campaign pays for, chum. And because Trump rallies, with the exception of reserved seating for people or groups favored by the former president, are “first come, first serve,” people are often left waiting in line for a long time. Some of them never get in.
It’s unfortunate, because Trump’s oversight almost makes Madison Square Garden look bad. It’s not like there were any stories of people urinating in Perrier bottles when Billy Joel sold out the arena five nights in a row in August of 1980, and certainly nobody had to hold a vessel of their own fluids while awaiting entry to the numerous Westminster Kennel Club shows that have been held there.
Another attendee told reporters about a different receptacle situation: “We’re peeing in bags and little cups, and we had to put up a little portable privacy shower so people didn’t have to look at each other when they did that.”
Well, thank goodness you brought a SHOWER. It’s too bad you didn’t think ahead about the thing you do multiple times a day.
Yet another described the dire straits that she was in with her 7-year-old daughter: “You just can’t drink any fluids. We got here a little after 6 a.m…. so we’re going to tough it out and not drink or eat anything. It’s kind of insane that there’s no provision at all for people who are going to be waiting this long.”
Why yes, it IS completely insane that Donald Trump, your host for the evening, did absolutely nothing in preparation for throngs of people camped outside a 19,500-seat venue waiting to see him speak, some for multiple days camped outside.
It’s pretty common, however, for Trump to allow his fans to believe that someone else is to blame for their discomfort. Unfortunately, he’s not required to disclose that stuff. You’re just supposed to know in advance that he provides nothing in situations where things will be necessary, and the city or event venue aren’t required to provide anything that his campaign doesn’t request and pay for themselves.
Imagine you showed up at a Trump rally and there was no security. Would you assume that the city police would volunteer to come protect you for free? Absolutely not. Security, barricades, folding chairs, parking, tents, refreshments, shuttles — all of these are things that are arranged for and paid for by a candidate’s campaign. Not the city, not the venue, the candidate.
Rallies aren’t necessary, after all. He doesn’t HAVE to hold these events.
And when he does, especially if his crowds are as big as he says they are, he should be sparing no expense to make sure that the people he’s counting on to deliver him the presidency are comfortable.
You know, like Kamala Harris did in Houston on Friday. The vice president hosted what basically amounted to a dance party in the Lone Star State, with native Texans Willie Nelson and Beyoncé in tow.
I didn’t hear a single story about a Harris voter peeing in a bottle, cup, or bag all weekend.