During a recent Trump campaign swing through South Carolina, the circumstances of Donald’s big speech again left his supporters — some of whom had traveled across long distances to hear him speak — in dangerous weather conditions.
According to a report from The Greenville News, more than 50 people were treated for “heat-related illness” as the day went on, and though Trump’s speech was part of a more extensive gathering in the South Carolina locale to celebrate the Fourth of July, it’s no doubt safe to assume that was all or close to all directly in connection to Donald’s speech. Most of those who suffered documented health impacts from the high temperatures around Pickens were elderly, recalling on yet another front the incident in Nebraska before the 2020 election where hundreds of people were left essentially stranded for hours in dangerously low temperatures after Donald took off. There were hospitalizations but no evidently major injuries reported in connection to the Nebraska incident.
“Kenny McPeters, chairman of Pickens County Emergency Services Board, estimated at least 50 people, mostly elderly, were being treated with air conditioning and water at a temporary shelter,” the News said of the South Carolina happenings. That shelter was a church down the street from the location of Trump’s speech to his fans. And the number of people overall affected by the heat could have been significantly higher, as a local police official also discussed assistance that was provided in other locations — again including the hospital.
“Besides the church, we were using our cars, stairwells at the courthouse and police department,” Pickens Police Chief Randall Beach said of treating those affected by heat.
It’s unclear how prepared that the Trump team was to accommodate the former president’s fans who might have been affected by the heat. Some began to distribute water bottles after an apparent fainting incident by a media area designated for the former president’s remarks. There were also unsurprising disputes connected to the crowd size, with Donald claiming 75,000 were in attendance… and a Secret Service agent earlier that day estimating it at just 15,000 inside the secured area plus waiting to enter. Even Beach, who in theory may have been more personally favorable to Trump considering the GOP lean of the area, provided an estimate only two-thirds of what Donald had claimed.
