What if a presidential candidate took a handful of questions in a Pennsylvania town hall event—moderated by a self-declared dog and goat killer from South Dakota—which he then turned into 40 minute dance party?
Sounds like an over-the-top sketch from the weekend's episode of Saturday Night Live. After all, Attorney General Janet Reno's dance party was a running gag on SNL from 1997-2001.
Except the town-hall-turned-awkward-dance-party really happened.
Vice President Kamala Harris was among those who noted the odd event.
The Democratic presidential candidate posted on X:
"Hope he's okay."
VP Harris shared similar well wishes on both Threads and Truth Social.
No one from the Trump campaign has responded to any of the messages yet.
@KamalaHQ/Truth Social
The surreal moment occurred during a Republican presidential campaign event for Donald Trump.
The event billed as a town hall was moderated by South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi "puppy-killer" Noem on Monday—Indigenous Peoples' Day—in the unincorporated community of Oaks, Pennsylvania before a sparse crowd.
The GOP's 78-year-old presidential candidate took only a few questions—reportedly four—in sweltering heat that caused two in the MAGA crowd to pass out. The livestream of the event ran for over an hour before Trump appeared on stage.
A Reddit user in the Politics subReddit broke down the livestream timeline.
rPolitics/Reddit
Trump remarked about the heat causing people to collapse:
"Personally, I enjoy this. We lose weight, you know. No, you lose weight. We could do this—lose 4 or 5 pounds."
After the second person fainting disrupted his event, Trump decided music was the answer.
The former Republican President and convicted felon said:
"Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music."
"Let’s make it into a music fest. Who the hell wants to hear questions, right?"
rPolitics/Reddit
Trump told his staff to play some "really [sic] beauties," after which he and Noem awkwardly remained on stage, swayed, waved their hands and arms and occasionally sang along.
Harris wasn't the only one concerned over Trump's latest effort to avoid questions.
rPolitics/Reddit
rPolitics/Reddit
Even Trump’s 2016 opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—winner of the 2016 popular vote—voiced concerns.
rPolitics/Reddit
rPolitics/Reddit
rPolitics/Reddit
rPolitics/Reddit
Of course there were some jokes.
Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt poked fun at Noem's attempts to keep Trump on track.
While on Reddit, someone wondered if Noem was contemplating using her Cricket the puppy option.
rPolitics/Reddit
While others warned of the dangers of another Trump presidency.
The playlist included songs by Sinead O’Connor, Elvis Presley, Guns N’ Roses, the Village People, and Rufus Wainwright.
Wainwright issued a statement about his cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" being used by Trump.
In the wake of Monday's town hall turned "music fest," Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung took to X to say his boss is 'unlike any politician in history'."
Finally, some verifiable truth from a member of the Trump campaign.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
