A town hall meeting with former President Donald Trump on Monday evening was cut short by medical emergencies in the crowd.
The town hall was in Oaks, Pennsylvania, in Montgomery County, about 25 miles northwest of Philadelphia. It took place in the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and Fairgrounds, which was very warm, thanks to a crowd in an enclosed space.
During the truncated event, both Trump and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who moderated the event, commented on the heat.
The Trump campaign estimated the crowd at between 5,000 and 6,000, according to NBC News.
Trump at one point asked about the venue’s air conditioning.
“They probably can’t afford it, sir, in this economy,” Noem responded, according to The Associated Press.
The crowd didn’t want to leave, so the songs kept rolling!
“Play YMCA, let’s go, nice and loud!” pic.twitter.com/E6k3XTSkLq
— Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) October 15, 2024
According to ABC, the first medical emergency took place about 30 minutes into the event. An individual was placed on a stretcher.
As that took place, the crown sang “God Bless America.” Trump requested that “Ave Maria” be played as the man was treated.
A second medical emergency soon followed.
“Would anybody else like to faint?” Trump asked.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Trump campaign said there were three people transported from the expo center to an area hospital. Their conditions were not available, the Inquirer reported.
Trump said he wanted the doors opened, but was told it could not be done for security reasons.
“Open the doors. I wish we could open those doors to outside,” Trump said. “For security reasons, they can’t. But you know what I suggest? Open them. Because anybody comes through those doors, you know what’s going to happen to them.”
But he joked there was a bright side.
“Personally, I enjoy this. We lose weight, you know. No, you lose weight. We could do this — lose four or five pounds,” Trump said.
After the second emergency, Trump said the question part of the event was over.
“Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music. Let’s make it into a music fest. Who the hell wants to hear questions right? Isn’t that beautiful?” he said.
Attendees slowly filtered out as the music played for about 40 minutes.
“To lighten the mood, President Trump turned the town hall into an impromptu concert and the crowd loved it,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s campaign press secretary, said, adding, “The room was full of joy.”
Total lovefest at the PA townhall! Everyone was so excited they were fainting so @realDonaldTrump turned to music. Nobody wanted to leave and wanted to hear more songs from the famous DJT Spotify playlist!
— Steven Cheung (@TheStevenCheung) October 15, 2024
“The safety and well-being of President Trump’s supporters is always his top priority. The two individuals who fainted were immediately given medical attention. As President Trump said tonight, they are great patriots,” Leavitt said.
During the town hall, Trump said he represented “the party of common sense. We want rules. We want good education. We want low interest rates. We want jobs. And you know what? We want a strong military,” he said, according to the Inquirer.
