CoacHELLa: Who's to Blame for This Past Weekend's Debacle?

• Mayor, gas stations, bus company, even Donald Trump being blamed for this past weekend's Coachella rally fiasco.

• Gambling sites have Trump favored as high as -150 Monday.

• Most accurate poll finds Kamala Harris up 3 points nationally.

• Harris agrees to interview on Fox News.

Presidential Election

MAGA Stranded After Coachella Rally

A man was arrested with loaded guns near Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's Coachella rally over the weekend, Riverside County sheriff’s officials said.

The Secret Service said in a statement Sunday that the incident did not impact protective operations and that Trump was not in any danger.

Upon his arrest by local police, the man made no threats aimed at Trump and federal investigators have found no threatening material targeting Trump, sources told ABC News.

There are indications on social media that he supports Trump and was at the RNC, according to sources.

Then there was that debacle after the Coachella rally.

Buses brought them there but they never returned apparently.

He bussed people in.
He did NOT bus people out.
At Calhoun Ranch.
In between Indio & Coachella.
In the desert, stranded at night, with no way out.
He squeezed out what he wanted, got his sound bite.
He got his photos.
He got his propaganda.
He left.
He left MAGA in the desert to… pic.twitter.com/GnVE2dIG23

— Billie Nelson (@Mamabenergy2) October 13, 2024

NOW CONFIRMED: The bus company booked by the Trump campaign for his Coachella rally refused to return to collect the stranded attendees after Team Trump ignored their repeated requests for payment.

Is ANYBODY surprised Trump screwed his supporters? pic.twitter.com/oIhTYjbqdI

— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) October 14, 2024

So what happened?

From The Independent:

While thousands of supporters were bussed into Calhoun Ranch, which was situated about five miles away from where they parked their vehicles, people attending claimed the event organizers had neglected transport for the return journey.

And instead of being shuttled away from the venue after Trump exited the stage at about 7pm PT following a near-90-minute address, many attendees were left stranded in 93F heat, according to video footage on social media.

The Daily Mail noted that Trump supporters accused the Democrat Coachella mayor of deliberately leaving them in the desert for all those hours after the rally.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco doesn't think he's at fault.

'I will defend him and say that I don't believe at this time he would have had anything to do with the transportation out of that event,' Bianco told DailyMail.com.

'The logistics of the event are up to the campaign and to the Trump campaign,' he added. 'And I don't see at this time anyway I don't see how he could influence that.'

One X user accused the city of Coachella of 'sabotaging the rally.;

'Thousands of patriots have been stranded and riots have broken out because there has been no structure for how to get out of the rally,' the user claimed. 'The city was in charge and they hate trump!!!'

Still others blamed the snafu on the buses inability to locate gas stations, whatever that means.

And, yes, there were folks on Twitter claiming the bus company "confirmed" they were not paid.  If that were the case we highly doubt the bus company would hvae transported anyone to the rally in the first place.

As of Monday, we're still left wondering who is exactly is to blame.  When all else fails, BLAME EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING because, WHY THE HELL NOT?

Presidential Election

Most Accurate 2016, 2020 Poll Has Harris Up 3 Points

The betting markets all have Donald Trump favored over the past week (BetUS has Trump as high as -150 compared to Democratic candidate Kamala Harris at +130).  It's unclear whether the response - perceived or otherwise - to Hurricane Helene has anything to do with this.

Polls are tightening too.  But one has Harris up three points nationally.

That poll was conducted by TIPP and they can brag about accurately predicting a Trump victory in 2016.  With maybe a few exceptions, pretty much every poll got that one wrong.

According to the latest TIPP tracking poll of 1,212 likely voters conducted online from Friday, October 11 to Sunday, October 13, 49% backed Harris, 46% backed Trump.

Recognized by The Washington Post in 2020 as the most accurate national presidential poll, the survey has a margin of error of +/-2.9 points.

But as commenters were quick to point out, the national poll numbers "don't mean jack".

A gentleman, Mark A, writes:

"The Electoral College exists because the United States is a constitutional republic with a federal system where states function like individual entities, not provinces. This structure lets each state hold its own presidential election, casting electoral votes based on population, and ensures a balance between populous and less-populous states. It reflects the founders' intent to protect both majority rule and minority interests, avoiding direct democracy while preserving state sovereignty in the election process."

Presidential Election

Harris Agrees to Sit Down Interview With Fox News' Brett Baier

The Vice President is heading into more hostile territory perhaps this week.

It will be Harris’ first formal interview ever on Fox News and airs on the October 16 edition of Brett Baier’s "Special Report" at 6 p.m. ET. Baier will anchor "Special Report" from the battleground state of Pennsylvania that evening.

Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, joined "Fox News Sunday" for the second straight week on Sunday as the Democratic ticket has amped up media appearances in recent weeks.