MADISON, Ala. — Despite the city being left with a $30,000 bill, the Mayor of Madison has no regrets hosting Donald Trump last month.
Mayor Troy Trulock explained in a statement to Alabama sports website and liberal political blog AL.com that the benefits of having Trump come to Madison greatly outweighed the costs of the event. Trulock also detailed the civic benefits of the rally, arguing that the event “supported citizens’ constitutional rights to assemble, allowed freedom of speech for both protesters and a candidate, and allowed citizens to hear directly from a candidate prior to the Super Tuesday Primary.”
Last week, the Madison City Council lamented that they were not informed about the preparations for the rally, especially since the cost ended up being so high.
“The rally was a great thing, and I’m all for having political rallies, but I felt like we should have been given a heads-up early on that this planning was in process. Certainly we could have assisted along the way,” City Council President Tim Holcombe said. “My issue was a lack of communication and the amount of money it took to put the event on.”
In his statement yesterday, Mayor Trulock said that he and the Council were notified at the same time when the event moved to the Madison City Schools Stadium.
Holcombe disagrees, saying “The City Council was unaware of any of these plans until receiving an e-mail from Dr. Fowler Thursday afternoon at 5:55 p.m. that a tentative agreement had been reached to host the Trump rally on Sunday at the city stadium. I was with Mayor Trulock at a 5:00 p.m. ribbon cutting at Merrill Gardens, but he neglected to mention what was transpiring and in process.”
The Madison Police Department had concerns about the lack of communication too. “I never imagined that I would be notified at 10 minutes after 5 on Thursday afternoon that we needed to plan for an event that takes three weeks to properly plan,” Police Maj. Jim Cooke said.
The Police didn’t think much about moving the event to the football stadium either, calling it a “logistical nightmare.”
No matter what concerns or frustrations came from the police or City Council, Mayor Trulock stands behind his decision to host the rally and its success. Trulock believes that the influx of tens of thousands of people helped reimburse the city, especially small businesses.
Trulock’s statement said after the event, he “visited a local Madison business and was told by the owner and his wife that the sales for that day were at least 100% if not 200% more than their normal day.”
The Madison school system also received $20,000 for hosting the rally, and two booster clubs made $5,000 through concession sales.
Trulock highlighted the national coverage the rally received, citing the 300 press passes provided and airtime on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and other national networks.
The Madison rally was also where Trump received the endorsement of Senator Jeff Sessions.
