Donald Trump supporters participating in a Halloween parade in Pennsylvania mounted a rifle to the roof of a golf cart and had a woman dressed as Kamala Harris following behind in chains.
Parade goers said they were shocked by the float, which managed to evoke several horrifying scenarios at once: political violence, slavery, and mob rule.
The parade is a 70-year tradition in Mount Pleasant, a small borough about 45 miles from Pittsburgh. The local volunteer fire department, which organizes the event, apologized for letting the “offensive participants” take part in what was supposed to be a family-friendly affair.
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“We do not share in the values represented by those participants, and we understand how it may have hurt or offended members of our community,” the fire department said in a statement posted to Facebook.
The parade has traditionally been a “first come, first served” event, and the department doesn’t vet participants. That could change in the future, the statement said.
In a statement to Pittsburgh’s local NPR station, the NAACP condemned the float as “a harmful symbol that evokes a painful history of violence, oppression and racism” against Black and Brown communities.
Michelle Milan McFall, chairperson of the local Democratic Party, told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that the display was “vile,” “heartbreaking,” and potentially dangerous.
The head of the local Republican committee also offered a lukewarm rebuke of the parade float, saying the party “didn’t condone” simulated political imprisonment or violence.
Around the same time the float was making its way through Mount Pleasant, Trump was on stage in Arizona with Tucker Carlson wistfully imagining his political rival Liz Cheney facing a firing squad.
In other words, setting the tone at the top.
