Another voting bloc advertised as pro–Donald Trump has turned out to be a bust.
The Republican presidential nominee’s rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday featured a crowd of people holding signage that read, “Scranton Firefighters for Trump.” But by Friday, it became clear that the Scranton Fire Department firefighters’ union had absolutely nothing to do with the initiative, and the people waving the signs at Trump’s campaign event were not, in fact, firefighters.
The International Association of Fire Fighters union has not yet endorsed a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, nor has its Scranton chapter, Local 60, reported The Scranton Times-Tribune.
“Local 60 would like to address the rally held earlier today in Scranton for former President Trump and the Office of President of the United States,” the chapter wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday. “This is not a political post, rather a clarification post for anyone who sees or may see the event. Multiple CITIZENS were seen with ‘Scranton Firefighters for Trump’ signs at today’s rally. It is noted that no member of Local 60 were carrying those signs as the IAFF has chosen not to endorse a candidate this election.
“We honor and respect each and every person’s political opinions as well as our members own opinions on what they believe is the right choice for them,” the post continued. “We just want to clarify that Local 60 has not endorsed a candidate for the Office of President following the path of the IAFF. The signs seen were not a representation of SFD Local 60 nor an endorsement of any candidate.”
The Trump campaign also attempted to distance itself from the charade. In an interview with the Times-Tribune, campaign spokesperson Kush Desai claimed that the “Firefighters for Trump” signs “were not something that the campaign made or handed out.”
But that doesn’t mean that Trump didn’t try to reap the rewards of the signage’s confusing appearance there. Just shy of an hour into the rally, Trump called out to the supposed firefighters, claiming that he got their union’s endorsement.
“We got the firefighters endorsed us, you probably heard,” Trump said.
