Several Donald Trump Supporters Hospitalized Due to Heat-Related Illness While Waiting for Campaign Rally in Phoenix
Supporters of former President Donald Trump faced extreme temperatures while waiting to attend an event with the presumptive GOP nominee in Phoenix, leading to several people needing to be escorted out.
Phoenix fire officials announced that 11 people had to be taken to area hospitals due to heat-related illnesses.
Ben Brown from Arizona’s ABC15 filmed one of the Trump supporters being wheeled off to the hospital on a stretcher and mentioned, “I’ve seen so far at least 3 people carried off on stretches due to the heat as they wait in line in the sun to get into Donald Trump’s event … it’s 102 degrees out.”
The event, organized by Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk, attracted many attendees who had been waiting since the early hours of the morning.
The temperatures soared above 110 degrees around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 6, contributing to the health issues faced by the supporters waiting outside.
The southwestern region is currently experiencing a severe heat wave, resulting in "excessive heat warnings and watches [being] extended from the central valley down through southern California’s deserts, southern Nevada and southern and western Arizona and into Utah, affecting over 29 million."
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Trump, who is expected to speak with the audience during the event, has not campaigned in Arizona since 2022. In his previous visit, he endorsed a slate of candidates, all of whom eventually lost their races.
The event at Dream City Church is also Trump’s first official political rally since a New York jury convicted him of 34 felonies in connection with hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 to conceal their previous sexual affairs.
The event, labeled as a town hall, offers the opportunity for Trump to interact with a supportive crowd in Arizona, a state considered crucial in the upcoming 2024 elections.
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As OK! previously reported, Trump was recently ridiculed for doing nothing to help one of his supporters who needed medical attention at a rally in the Brox last month.
The presumptive GOP nominee was mocked for just casually standing at the podium and drinking his own water when medics arrived.
According to law enforcement, Trump’s Bronx rally drew about 8,000 to 10,000 attendees.
Trump and many of his spokespeople claimed there were over 25,000 people at the campaign event. However, local news outlets were able to get an overhead view of the rally showing a much smaller crowd size than what was alleged.