Donald Trump recently held another “Keep America Great” rally in Wildwood, New Jersey in an effort to secure his bid for a second presidential run.
During the rally, Trump bragged to his crowd about the “tens of thousands of people” who were posted outside the venue, braving the overflowing port-a-potties and heaps upon heaps of garbage, desperate to get inside to bear witness to Trump’s thinly-veiled KKK speech.
However, among those who made it into the arena, one key member of the Wildwood community wasn’t present.
According to a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Wildwood mayor Pete Byron claims that he was “not invited” — or rather, UN-invited — to attend Trump’s MAGA rally in his city by Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew as a result of him requesting that the Trump campaign pay for the costs associated with the rally.
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“I’m the mayor,” Byron said in a statement to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Why should I have to sneak into an event in my hometown?”
Van Drew has been making waves in the media lately as the former moderate Democrat who recently flipped parties and swore his loyalty to Donald Trump in a rather public manner, according to a report from the New York Times.
Byron was recently elected as mayor of Wildwood, a city within Van Drew’s district, after beating out long-time incumbent Republican Ernie Troiano Junior. Byron explained that the rally in his city wasn’t his idea, but he felt a visit from the president should override politics.
Speaking with the Inquirer, Byron continued, “This isn’t about whether you’re Republican or Democrat. It isn’t even about the man. It’s about the position. Check your affiliation at the door and let’s just all participate in this monumental [and] exciting time for Wildwood.”
The Wildwood mayor certainly wasn’t averse to the boost in economics and exposure that would come to his city as a result of a presidential visit, but he wasn’t willing to ignore the steep price associated with hosting a sitting president.
“I have no way of knowing what these costs will be,” he explained. “These rallies can be pretty expensive. There’s a lot of overtime.”
Byron claimed to local media outlets that the Trump campaign was rather miffed upon his request for reimbursement for Trump’s visit to the city of Wildwood and was subsequently informed by Van Drew that his presence at the MAGA rally would not be welcomed.
“I was not invited,” Byron explained yesterday, just a few hours before the rally was set to begin. “I’ve been informed that Congressmen Van Drew and the President are upset with the fact that I said I think the city should be reimbursed.”
The mayor went on to express how “very disappointed” he was in his GOP Representative for effectively uninviting him to his “coming out party,” claiming that the two have known each other for several years and he feels that it’s very important that they maintain a working relationship.
“He’s still my Congressman and we need to have a relationship,” Byron stated to the Inquirer. “The decision’s been made… You have a congressman and a president. Who else would he answer to?”
After seeing video footage of the way that town looked in the wake of Trump’s rally, I don’t blame Byron one bit for expecting some reimbursement — considering it looks comparable to a 4-day frat house bender:
This is what it looks like in Wildwood after thousands of people spent the evening at President Trump’s rally.
More video: https://t.co/OrKRl98Q1z#WildwoodRally #WildwoodTrumpRally pic.twitter.com/Nmco3HxVKS
— NJ.com (@njdotcom) January 29, 2020
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
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