After a rally on October 27, 2020 at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, hundreds of supporters were left in freezing temperatures. Buses couldn’t navigate the airport roads, and more delays were created when many decided to walk the few miles back to the parking area. Emergency teams had to tend to those most vulnerable, resulting in 30 hospitalizations.
Thousands of people left out in the cold and stranded in #Omaha, #Nebraska after a #Trump rally. I’m told the shuttles aren’t operating & there aren’t enough busses. Police didn’t seem to know what to do. Some walked. I saw at least one woman getting medical attention. pic.twitter.com/oIkmixaZt0
At the rally, Trump had remarked, “Is there any place you would rather be than a Trump rally on about a 10-degree evening? … It’s cold out here, but that’s OK.”
Trump made the remark at an October, 18 2020 rally in Carson City, Nevada.
He will surrender your future to the virus. He’s going to lockdown. This guy wants to lockdown. He’ll listen to the scientists. If I listened totally to the scientists, we would write down, have a country that would be in a massive depression.
On October 16, 2020 at an Ocala, Florida rally, Trump repeatedly called Matt Gaetz “Rick.”
Florida’s 1st congressional district representative Matt Gaetz and convicted Trump aide Rick Gates. Wikipedia
Matt Gaetz is the US House Representative from Florida’s 1st district. Rick Gates was a former aide that pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Trump make the remarks at an October, 16 2020 rally in Macon, Georgia.
Running against the worst candidate in the history of presidential politics puts pressure on me.
Could you imagine if I lose? My whole life, what am I gonna do? I’m gonna say I lost to the worst candidate in the history of politics. I’m not gonna feel so good. Maybe I’ll have to leave the country, I don’t know.”
Trump made the claim at a September 21, 2020 rally in Ohio.
You know, in some States, thousands of people, nobody young below the age of 18, like nobody. They have a strong immune system. Who knows? Take your hat off to the young because they have a hell of an immune system, but it affects virtually nobody. It’s an amazing thing. By the way, open your schools. Everybody open your schools.
Trump immediately after went on to claim that “Joe Biden wants to impose a $4 trillion tax site, ban American energy, destroy the suburbs, give free healthcare to illegal aliens” and that the left was going to “indoctrinate your children with poisonous anti-American lies.”
On the day of the rally, the United States totaled 7,067,486 cases and 204,525 deaths.
Throughout his life, and into his presidency, Trump voiced his belief that genes allowed for inherent superiority of some over others. He has invoked “racehorse theory” in relation to these beliefs, referencing the selective breeding of horses.
He reiterated these beliefs at a Minnesota rally on September 18, 2020:
This state was pioneered by men and women who braved the wilderness and the winters to build a better life for themselves and for their families. They were tough, and they were strong. You have good genes, you know that, right? You have good genes. A lot of it’s about the genes isn’t it, don’t you believe? The racehorse theory you think was so different? You have good genes in Minnesota.
The application of “racehorse theory” to people is known as eugenics, which has been the motivation behind a wide swath of crimes against humanity, from forced sterilizations to genocide.
The first rally Trump held since June, on September 13, 2020, was issued a $3,000. A compliance officer noted six violations by the indoor venue regarding state COVID-19 regulations, which mandated an attendance limit of 50, the wearing of masks, and the practice of social distancing. The venue issued temperature checks, had hand sanitizers available, and handed out face masks, though there was no requirement for the crowd to wear them.
On Twitter, Trump said that the state’s Governor tried to require an outdoor venue, before going on to claim that the Governor would assist in rigging the election.
…of the Ballots in Nevada!? Not fair, Rigged Election! @GovSisolak, will use every trick in the book to cheat with Ballots.
The Hatch Act, passed in 1939, prohibits executive branch public servants from using their position to engage in political activity like campaigning, or the use of public locations to do so. While the President and Vice President are except, Trump’s administration has violated the Hatch Act several times over his tenure.
The Office of the Special Council, an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency, recommended Kellyanne Conway’s removal in June 2019 due to her violations of the Hatch Act. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a lawsuit in December of 2019 that alleged over 60 violations by Kellyanne Conway alone. She dismissed accusations of violating the Hatch Act as trying to silence her, saying, “Blah, blah, blah…Let me know when the jail sentence starts.”
Further accusations of violations have been levied against Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, trade adviser Peter Navarro, economic adviser Larry Kudlow, Vice Presidential chief of staff Marc Short, and former UN Ambassaor Nikki Haley.
Among the most open and breach of the Hatch Act was the use of the White House, also referred to as “the people’s house,” as the centerpiece location for the 2020 Republican National Convention. The fourth and final day of the RNC featured several speakers, including the President himself, on the White House lawn.
Day 4 of RNC 2020. Alex Wong/Getty Images
The day after, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows dismissed concerns, saying “Nobody outside of the Beltway really cares”
Throughout his presidency, Trump claimed multiple times that he was responsible for the Veteran’s Choice Program, which allows veterans to seek care outside of VA medical facilities. The bill as part of a bipartisan effort signed into law in 2014 by Barack Obama. Trump signed the Mission Act in 2018, which expanded on the Veteran’s Choice Program
During an October, 2018 rally in Tennessee, Trump said,
We just passed choice. That was 44 years, they’ve been trying to pass choice. They’ve been trying to pass that one for many many decades. They couldn’t do it. We got it passed.
At a May, 2019 rally in Pennsylvania, Trump reiterated his claims:
We passed VA Choice and VA Accountability to give our veterans the care that they deserve and they have been trying to pass these things for 45 years.
Dr. Richard Stone, Executive in Charge of the Veterans Health Administration, said Trump’s expansion was to “almost be a non-event,” as wait times were longer in private hospitals than VA facilities, and the use of private hospitals by veterans had begun to decline in response.
Trump again made the claim in an August, 2020 press conference, but when pressed on the inaccuracy of the claim, left abruptly.
Governor of South Dakota Kristi Noem (R) recounted her first meeting with Trump in 2018 at the Oval office:
“He said, ‘Kristi, come on over here. Shake my hand. I shook his hand, and I said, ‘Mr. President, you should come to South Dakota sometime. We have Mount Rushmore.’ And he goes, ‘Do you know it’s my dream to have my face on Mount Rushmore?’ I started laughing. He wasn’t laughing, so he was totally serious.”
According to The New York Times, a Presidential aide reached out to her later to inquire about the process for being added to Mount Rushmore. Trump immediately derided it as “fake news,” because immediately saying “sounds like a good idea to me!”
This is Fake News by the failing @nytimes & bad ratings @CNN. Never suggested it although, based on all of the many things accomplished during the first 3 1/2 years, perhaps more than any other Presidency, sounds like a good idea to me! https://t.co/EHrA9yUsAw
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