Van Drew Confirms Visit Using Social Media
WILDWOOD – There is a saying that once you get sand between your toes, you will want to make your home at the shore.
The same could be figuratively true for presidential candidates, as the Board of Commissioners has paved the way for presidential candidate Donald J. Trump to return to Wildwood for a special event on a city beach on Saturday, May 11.
Congressman Jeff Van Drew confirmed through his campaign’s Facebook page that Trump would be coming to Wildwood.
“The rumors are true,” an April 17 post on the Van Drew for Congress Facebook page said. “We can now confirm that President Trump will be returning to Wildwood on Saturday, May 11, for another historic rally.”
The page said the Wildwood beach would be able to accommodate record-setting crowds.
The visit also was confirmed through the events list on www.donaldjtrump.com, which has been updated to include “President Donald J. Trump to Hold a Rally in Wildwood, New Jersey,” scheduled for May 11 at 5 p.m. The event listed includes a note saying doors open at noon.
The location of the event is given as the Wildwood beach, using the address 3601 Boardwalk, which is the Wildwood Tourist Information Center’s address.
On Thursday, April 18, Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr., Deputy Mayor Steve Mikulski and Commissioner Krista McConnell issued a joint press release on behalf of the city, expressing their excitement at having a large event to start the summer.
“What a great boost to our town at the start of the summer season!” the commissioners said in the press release.
Tracey Boyle-DuFault, executive director of the Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce, said she believed the political event would add to what she called “an already exciting Mother’s Day weekend.”
The city commissioners had held a special meeting on Monday, April 15, to authorize an agreement between the city and the group Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc., for the May 11 event. The three-member governing body, with McConnell participating remotely, said the Pledge of Allegiance and immediately went into closed session to discuss the resolution.
The city provided the Herald with a copy of the resolution authorizing the agreement, in which the political group agreed to seek the necessary permit, but declined to provide a copy of “Exhibit A,” referred to in the resolution, “that outlines DJTFP24’s responsibilities as the holder of a special event permit and the city’s obligations as the issuer of the special event permit.”
Trump came to Wildwood on Jan. 28, 2020, as the 45th president of the United States, seeking his second term, and was welcomed by a large crowd of supporters at the Wildwoods Convention Center. As reported in the Herald at that time, the Convention Center holds 7,400 people, and at some point people were not being allowed in.
Large screens were set up in the Convention Center parking lot and across the street in Fox Park. The event also drew a crowd of opponents, including those belonging to Cape May County Indivisible, and speakers such as Martin Luther King III, son of the assassinated civil rights leader, and Amy Kennedy, then a Democratic candidate seeking the Second District congressional seat now held by Van Drew.
Van Drew switched parties after being elected to Congress, publicly swearing “undying loyalty” to Trump.
Trump was in Wildwood for about two hours before leaving by car over the George Redding Bridge.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
