TOI World Desk
Supporters were left “stranded” for hours in hot and humid conditions during a Donald Trump rally in Coachella Valley, California which was spoiled by another suspected assassination attempt on the former president, as reported by the Independent. The event, held on Saturday, faced numerous issues from the beginning, including an altercation with a heckler and the arrest of an armed man outside the venue, believed to have multiple identities.Authorities suggested that Trump might have been the target of a third assassination attempt in three months.
Although thousands of supporters were transported on buses to Calhoun Ranch, five miles from the parking area, many attendees said the event organisers did not arrange transport for the return trip. After Trump concluded his one-and-a-half-hour speech, supporters were left waiting in 93°F heat, according to footage posted on social media platform X.
“Apparently the buses are no longer coming,” said one attendee in a video taken more than three hours after the rally ended. “There used to be like 20 buses when we were being brought here, but now there’s only like three buses operating.” Another attendee said that there was “only one bus in rotation,” which took half an hour for each drop-off.
Footage from the event captured frustrated Trump supporters waiting in the heat, with one attendee criticising the organisers for their “failures.” The Tennessee Holler shared that many of those left waiting were elderly.
While Trump claimed on Truth Social that 100,000 people attended the rally in California—a state led by vice president Kamala Harris by almost 27% according to The Hill—local reports indicated that the Riverside County permit limited capacity to 15,000. The former president’s campaign faced backlash online for the apparent organisational failures, with critics questioning his ability to lead the country.