Thousands of Trump rally attendees in Nebraska stranded in freezing cold after event

Hundreds of US President Donald Trump's supporters were left in the freezing cold for hours after a rally at an airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, on Tuesday night, with some walking around 3 miles to waiting buses and others being taken away in ambulances.

Seven people were taken to area hospitals, suffering from a variety of conditions, and there were a total of 30 "contacted" for medical reasons, the Omaha Police Department said in a statement. The Omaha Airport Authority had a slightly different figure of the number taken to hospitals — it said six were "throughout the duration of the event" and added that it could not confirm that the people were taken to hospitals because of the cold.

The temperature in the area was in the mid-30s at the time, but as low as 27 degrees with wind chill.

Many of those at the rally at the Eppley Airfield faced hours in long lines to get in and clogged parking lots and busy crowds to get out, hours after Air Force One departed around 9 p.m. The police said the last person was loaded onto a bus at the rally site at 11:50 p.m. — about three hours after the event had ended.

On Wednesday, Joe Biden said the incident was emblematic of "Trump's whole approach."

"Just look what happened last night in Omaha, after the Trump rally ended, hundreds of people, including older Americans and children were stranded in sub-zero freezing temperatures for hours," Biden told reporters during a brief speech in Wilmington, Delaware. "Several folks ended up in the hospital...It's an image that captured President Trump's whole approach in this crisis...he makes a lot of big pronouncements, but they don't hold up."

The police department said 25,000 people had been taken to the rally site by 40 buses running from 10:00 a.m. until the rally began at 8:00 p.m.

According to dispatches from the department, recorded by the radio communications platform Broadcastify, at least 30 people including the elderly, an electric wheelchair user and a family with small children were among those requiring medical attention after hours of waiting in the cold.

“We need at least 30 more buses,” he quoted an Omaha officer as saying.

While the available buses were navigating the narrow, heavily-impacted roads, attendees were at risk of freezing in the cold. Officers in police cars drove some individuals back nearly four miles to the lot where their cars were parked, Sanderford reported.

City buses, per Omaha Police spokesman Officer Michael Pecha, were deployed to speed up the process of taking people back to parking lots. Many others, he added, walked back two or three miles to return to their cars — which contributed to traffic delays.

"Supporters of the president were brought in, but buses weren’t able to get back to transport people out. It’s freezing and snowy in Omaha tonight," Nebraska state Sen. Megan Hunt tweeted.

NBC News has reached out to the Trump campaign, Omaha Fire/EMS and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office in Omaha and has not yet received comment.

"There's an issue with a number of people unable to find their cars and wandering in the cold ... see if we can't get everybody reunited with a car," the Omaha police Dispatch 1129 recording said, according to Broadcastify.

I've got an elderly male that's down 10 blocks ... having a hard time breathing right now," audio on Omaha police Dispatch 1100 said. While another says: "Subject says he's about to pass out."

The recordings say 20 buses backed up and created jams as rallygoers had to be shuttled back to busy parking lots and exits. The dispatches also reference patients being taken to the Creighton University Medical Center. NBC News reached out to the hospital but did not yet receive a response.

The police department said in the statement that when many people decided to walk several miles to the parking areas, the foot traffic created further delays in getting the buses to the rally site to pick up those waiting.

On Wednesday, the Trump campaign said in a statement, "President Trump loves his supporters and was thrilled to visit Omaha last night. Despite the cold, tens of thousands of people showed up for his rally. Because of the sheer size of the crowd, we deployed 40 shuttle buses — double the normal allotment — but local road closures and resulting congestion caused delays. At the guest departure location, we had tents, heaters, generators, hot cocoa, and handwarmers available for guests. We always strive to provide the best guest experience at our events and we care about their safety."

Ahead of the event, the Omaha Police Department warned on Twitter that "Parking at the TRUMP rally is full."

"Is there any place you would rather be than a Trump rally on about a 10 degree evening? ... It's cold out here but that's OK," Trump said as he arrived at Eppley Airfield wearing a heavy black coat and gloves.

Crowds cheered as he pretended to close up his coat.

Trump told the crowd he'd been to Wisconsin and Michigan earlier Tuesday, where it had also been freezing and raining, and thanked the crowds for attending.

"I said I won't put on a hat because I'm gonna show you how tough we are," he said.

"It was pouring and it was freezing. It is the coldest right here, right? It is an honor to be with you, I have to say. When we win, you win, Nebraska wins and all of America wins."

Source: NBC News

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