Elderly Trump supporters hospitalized after being left in freezing cold for hours after rally

Donald Trump supporters were left in the cold and subsequently hospitalized following a late-night rally at an airport in Omaha, Nebraska. After being made to stand in freezing temperatures for hours, some elderly Trump supporters were rushed to the ER for hypothermia. Omaha police confirmed in a written statement that first responders dealt with 30 people for medical reasons throughout the day with seven being sent to the hospital, reported The Guardian. More than 25,000 people attended the Trump rally and were stranded once the President left the rally in warm and cozy Air Force One. The evening temperature dropped to 30F (-1C) causing hypothermia in some supporters including elderly people. Their cars were parked miles away from the location of the rally and the buses scheduled to transport them to their cars were late on account of the traffic. It was claimed that there was limited traffic flow on the two-lane road leading to the site of the rally, which caused the delay.

Some gave up waiting on the buses in the freezing cold and started walking to their cars which were more than 2 miles away from the site. “Many people underestimated the distance from the event back to the parking lot on foot,” said officer Michael Pecha, spokesman for Omaha police. More than 40 buses had been used to transport the 25,000 people to the location from 10 am over a ten-hour period leading up to the rally. Once the rally was over, Trump used his helicopter to fly away while his supporters were left in the cold. Police said the attendees were able to leave the location around midnight.

Trump’s deputy national press secretary Samantha Zager defended the campaign stating the 40 buses employed in Omaha were twice the amount used in other campaign rallies. She pinned the blame on “local road closures" that caused the delay. She also claimed the attendees were cared for at the location while they waited. “At the guest departure location, we had tents, heaters, generators, hot cocoa, and hand warmers available for guests. We always strive to provide the best guest experience at our events and we care about their safety,” said Zager.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden shared an image from the Omaha rally and took a pop at the President and said it was emblematic of his response to the Coronavirus pandemic. “It’s an image that captured President Trump’s whole approach to this crisis,” said Biden. It's not the first time the Trump campaign has put the lives of his supporters at risk while seeking to promote Donald Trump. In June, when the Coronavirus case and death rates were high in the United States, Trump held a rally at Tulsa against the advice of health officials. The Trump campaign had also made it mandatory that supporters intending to make it to the rally should sign a waiver, absolving them of responsibility if they were to contract coronavirus at his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The President's campaign asked supporters to RSVP their place at the event and the terms and conditions stated that by registering they were agreeing to acknowledge the "inherent risk of exposure to Coronavirus exists in any public place where people are present," reported CNN. 

The disclaimer clearly states that "by attending the Rally, you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to Coronavirus and agree not to hold Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.; BOK Center; ASM Global; or any of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers liable for any illness or injury." It just goes to show that Trump was willing to ignore the advice of health experts and risk the lives of his supporters if it meant he had a chance of getting re-elected in November.