"This is criminal" — Trump's Coachella rally attendee shocked by number of people stranded at night miles away from their cars
Republican candidate Donald Trump's California rally at Coachella on October 12, 2024, turned chaotic after thousands of people were stranded without a way to get back to their vehicles. The former US President arranged multiple buses to transport his supporters the five-mile distance between the parking lot and the venue before the rally began.
However, after the rally, most of the buses reportedly did not return to pick them up, leaving them stranded late into the night. The spectacle unfolded online through a series of social media posts and videos.
One video that has been uploaded to social media saw a rally attendee remarking on the number of people waiting on the road for transportation. The video showed the attendee seemingly seated inside a vehicle, passing a group of people who were waiting to get back to their cars. The man seemed shocked when he saw another line, reiterating that he had no idea that the queue existed.
"I didn't even know about this line. No way. This is criminal. I didn't even know about this line. Wow," the person said.
"Only one bus in rotation" — Another Trump rally attendee claimed
In a series of now-deleted X posts, a user @WesleyxJohnson documented the aftermath that followed the former president's Coachella rally on October 12, 2024. The user wrote that around 20-30 buses were used to escort people from their cars to the venue before Trump's rally started.
However, after the rally, which ended at 7 pm, only one bus was in rotation, with a turnaround time of 30 minutes, according to a Sheriff. The attendee added that the other people would be "stranded" early into the next morning.
"How did we go from 20-30 busses down to 1???? This needs to be investigated immediately," he wrote.
The user said that the situation was horrible, and claimed that "something nefarious" was afoot with someone trying to start a riot. However, he deleted all his tweets shortly, adding he initially posted to get some help but all it did was start drama. He claimed that the buses ran out of fuel, leading to people getting stranded.
The user said that he deleted the posts because he was hoping to get some help from them but that "all it did was cause drama."
"Many poor people were stranded last night and it had everything to do with the bus gas stations not having any fuel. The buses had to drive 30 minutes out to find fuel and many didn’t return and some got stranded themselves trying to find fuel," he wrote.
People on social media seemed undecided about whom to blame for the situation. While some blamed Donald Trump for the mismanagement, others held Coachella mayor Steven Hernandez responsible.
Donald Trump's rally was held at Calhoun Ranch on the outskirts of Coachella. According to Newsweek, the former president addressed a crowd of 15,000 people at 5:30 pm local time. He spoke about topics like immigration and California's environmental policies, among others.
Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris continue their campaigns as the presidential election draws closer. Both candidates are expected to hold rallies in Pennsylvania on October 14, 2024.