Trump shortens town hall in Philly suburbs after medical emergencies in audience
Republished from Kentucky Lantern
UPPER PROVIDENCE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Former President Donald Trump planned a town hall for his first public campaign appearance in the Philadelphia suburbs of 2024. But after two apparent medical emergencies shortened the question and answer portion, Trump remained on stage for more than a half hour swaying along to some of his favorite songs.
“It’s a nice crowd,” Trump said as he took the stage shortly before 7 p.m., nearly an hour later than scheduled.
A few thousand supporters filled the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds in Montgomery County for the event moderated by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
Trump answered only five questions from attendees before the two incidents with audience members requiring medical attention.
While medical professionals attended to the first person, some in the audience sang God Bless America. After a few minutes, Trump asked if they could play Ave Maria on the speakers, a song he mentioned was played at his recent rally in Butler.
Audience questions from former Democrats
If there was a theme among the audience questions, it appeared to be disgruntled former Democrats. The conversation touched on familiar Trump campaign themes of border security, inflation, and some international conflicts.
An audience member named Heather, who said she was a registered Democrat most of her life, asked Trump at 7:34 p.m. how he would handle deportations of undocumented migrants, which has become a cornerstone of his campaign.
A second person appeared to need medical attention during Trump’s answer, so he asked for the music to resume.
“Would anyone else like to faint?” Trump asked after a few minutes. This was nearly 45 minutes after Trump took the stage.
Nearly an hour into the program Trump suggested that they end the questions, and instead make the rest of the night a “music fest.”
Trump didn’t take any questions after that, but emphasized the importance of Pennsylvania in the upcoming election, saying if whoever wins the commonwealth wins the election.
Trump took jabs at Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee, over a number of issues, once again claiming that she is “more dangerous” than President Joe Biden and that “she’s not a smart woman.”
By 8 p.m., Trump and Noem were still on stage as music — which included “YMCA”, “November Rain”, and “Rich Men North of Richmond” — played loudly. Some supporters towards the back made their way to the exits by this point, but many supporters near the front remained put.
“Nobody’s leaving, what’s going on,” Trump said as “Hallelujah” began playing at 8:06 PM. “There’s nobody leaving.”
“Turn that music up,” he said.
Trump and Noem remained onstage until 8:31 p.m., and even after he stepped off of the stage, Trump appeared to be conversing with supporters who were still present near the front.
Montgomery County, the third most populated county in Pennsylvania, has been a reliably blue area for decades, but it has shifted to the left during the Trump era. Barack Obama carried the county by 14 points over Republican Mitt Romney in 2012. Trump lost Montgomery County by 21 points to Hillary Clinton in 2016, and by 26 points to Joe Biden in 2020. Biden only carried Philadelphia and Delaware counties by larger margins than Montgomery County.
Democrats are counting on big numbers in Philadelphia and its collar counties to carry the state.
Former Democratic Congressman Peter Deutsch, of Florida, endorsed Trump’s candidacy on Oct. 7. He delivered brief remarks at Monday’s event citing his belief that the GOP nominee would be better suited to “keep and maintain world peace” than his Democratic opponent.
Gwen Walz, spouse of Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was campaigning on behalf of the ticket in Pennsylvania on Monday alongside Pennsylvania first lady Lori Shapiro.
Prior to his rally, Walz criticized Trump’s record on abortion rights.
“For nine long years, Trump has been trying to divide us — pitting neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend,” Walz said according to a press release from the Harris campaign. “In fact, I hear Trump is also here in the Collar Counties today, peddling his same old gripes and grievances.”
“He may even try to rewrite history on his record of attacking our reproductive freedom,” she added. “Well, I’m a longtime teacher. And in my classroom, we believe in facts. So here are a few: Donald Trump overturned Roe — that’s a fact.”
Abortion was not mentioned once during the Trump town hall.
Polling consistently shows Harris and Trump neck and neck statewide. National ratings outlets describe the race for Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes as a “toss-up.”
While Trump’s campaign event was one of the most unusual this cycle, which includes him revealing the sale of golden sneakers on stage in Philadelphia, the town hall turned concert was not the only campaign event in Pennsylvania on Monday. Harris held a rally in Erie County in the opposite end of the commonwealth.
Monday kicks off another busy week as the campaign enters the home stretch.
On Tuesday, Trump’s running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), will also be in Montgomery County for a town hall hosted by Moms for America, a conservative organization. Walz will be in western Pennsylvania. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will be in Philadelphia, as well.
Harris will be in Philadelphia on Wednesday, while Vance will hold a rally in Williamsport.
This story is republished from the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, a sister publication to the Kentucky Lantern and part of the nonprofit States Newsroom network.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter. Kentucky Lantern stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
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