Trump Targets Fire Marshal

Trump had to be rescued from a stuck elevator at the posh Mining Exchange hotel just prior to a grossly oversold rally at a nearby university, and the Republican presidential nominee showed his gratitude by lambasting the city’s fire marshal multiple times during his speech. Fire Marshal Brett Lacey told KKTV-TV the problem wasn’t Trump; it was that his campaign staff oversold the room.

Way oversold it. Organizers distributed as many 10,000 tickets for the rally at the 1,500-capacity Gallogly Events Center and an adjoining overflow room, a source with knowledge of the campaign told the Colorado Springs Gazette. But according to Trump, the problem was Lacey. “I have to tell you this is why our country doesn’t work,” Trump said, according to the Gazette. “We have thousands of people next door. We have a fire marshal who said, ‘Oh, we can’t allow more people.’ And it really is so unfair to the people. I’m so sorry. I have to apologize, but it’s not my fault.”

Trump then predictably doubled down. “Now, because of your fire marshal, who I am not a fan of, he’s probably a Democrat, probably a guy that doesn’t get it, I’m going to go into the other room and say hello to the people that didn’t get your location,” Trump told the crowd, according to KKTV. University of Colorado chancellor Pam Shockely-Zalabak said the 1,500 capacity was included in the contract signed by Trump’s campaign. “The campaign handled all the ticketing and more tickets were issued than the space available,” she said. A source familiar with the campaign told the Gazette 10,000 tickets were issued online.

Trump’s attack on the fire marshal didn’t go unnoticed by the father of the youngest victim of the 2003 Warwick, R.I., nightclub fire that killed 100 at The Station, which was overcrowded. Dave Kane, father of 18-year-old victim Nicholas O’Neill, said the following day that Trump’s comments demonstrate his “trademark ignorance and apparent disregard for public safety.”

Ironically, Trump was one of about 10 people who had to be rescued by the Colorado Springs Fire Department when they got trapped in an elevator at the luxury Mining Exchange hotel ahead of the rally. Firefighters opened a hatch to access the elevator that was stuck between the first and second floors, and lowered a ladder into it, according to the Gazette. Trump and the others had to climb the ladder to the second floor to escape.