Trump campaign leaves some cities with thousands in unpaid bills after rallies

Shortly earlier erstwhile President Donald Trump's improbable return to nan Democratic stronghold of Albuquerque, New Mexico, connected Thursday -- conscionable 5 days up of Election Day, Albuquerque's Democratic Mayor Tim Keller sent a typical invited connection for nan erstwhile president.

"Still waiting for Trump to salary nan half cardinal he owes. Maybe he's making a typical Halloween transportation to nan Duke City? We won't clasp our breath," Keller posted connected his societal media, pinch a photograph of a skeleton sitting astatine a desk.

Thursday was Trump's first sojourn to Albuquerque successful 5 years, aft officials opportunity he near an unpaid measure of $211,176 successful nationalist information costs from his 2019 rally astatine nan Santa Ana Star Center successful Rio Rancho, which is simply a portion of nan Albuquerque metropolitan area.

Fast guardant 5 years, nan measure has now snowballed into $444,986 including liking complete nan years, according to nan metropolis of Albuquerque.

Republican statesmanlike nominee erstwhile President Donald Trump arrives astatine a run rally, Oct. 31, 2024, successful Albuquerque, N.M.

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Albuquerque is conscionable 1 of galore cities wherever Trump's run -- complete his 3 tries for nan White House -- has accrued hundreds of thousands of dollars successful unpaid bills aft holding run events, often leaving section governments pinch hefty sums of unexpected expenses that origin them to spell complete their budget.

ABC News has spoken pinch officials from much than a twelve cities and municipalities he has campaigned successful complete nan past fewer years, wherever his rallies and events person costs nan cities betwixt tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars successful unreimbursed expenses, including overtime payments for section constabulary officers, occurrence fighters, EMS and different first responders deployed to guideline and protect nan crowds Trump's run events attract.

The Trump campaign’s deficiency of costs for specified costs continues even as nan erstwhile president touts his support for rule enforcement officers and promises amended benefits and activity conditions for them, while attacking Vice President Kamala Harris once supporting nan Defund nan Police movement. 

While Trump isn’t nan only governmental fig whose run events nutrient other nationalist information costs for section governments, his visits – which bring thousands to tens of thousands of group to mini towns – person often required much nationalist resources than different caller statesmanlike candidates. That, coupled pinch his unsocial and agelong governmental profession of moving arsenic a statesmanlike nominee for 3 consecutive statesmanlike predetermination cycles, has led to the bills piling up.

Republican statesmanlike nominee erstwhile President Donald Trump speaks astatine a run rally, Oct. 31, 2024, successful Albuquerque, N.M.

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Trump’s monolithic rally astatine nan Santa Ana Star Center successful nan Albuquerque metropolitan area successful 2019, for example, caused an “extreme strain connected resources” for nan metropolis by forcing nan metropolis to unopen down nan downtown area, including nan metropolis hall. Police officers, first responders and different metropolis labor who assisted pinch nan rally worked a mixed overtime of 1,500 hours that night, according to nan mayor’s office.

His agency told ABC News it has sent nan bills to Trump's residences successful New York and to Mar-a-Lago – and that a postulation agency is presently moving to retrieve nan debt.

Some cities opt to not measure nan run astatine all, for illustration Rio Rancho, which ended up pinch astir $240,000 successful expenses aft assisting pinch Trump's 2019 sojourn to nan Albuquerque metropolitan area. The city's spokesperson said it chose not to activity reimbursement from nan Trump run because it wished these costs "necessary to guarantee nan health, safety, and use of its citizens."

Similarly, successful September, Nassau County opted not to measure nan Trump run aft his monolithic rally successful Long Island costs $1 cardinal successful constabulary overtime alone, according to nan county’s Minority Office of Budget review, prompting Democratic legislators to record a Federal Election Commission title against Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman claiming improper usage of payer resources for a statesmanlike campaign.

Campaign Legal Center’s elder ineligible counsel Shanna Ports told ABC News that a authorities aliases municipal authorities tin deploy charismatic resources for illustration constabulary officers to a statesmanlike run arena without being reimbursed by nan run if those resources are utilized “solely to guarantee nan information of attendees – accordant pinch really it would respond to immoderate non-campaign event.”

Donald Trump gestures aft speaking astatine a run rally astatine Resch Center, Oct. 30, 2024, successful Green Bay, Wis.

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Tens of thousands bills from caller run events time off cities successful captious battleground states

But galore different section governments for illustration Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Erie, Pennsylvania, wherever Trump visited to tribunal cardinal battleground voters, person sought to get reimbursement from nan Trump run — with small success.

On Wednesday, Trump campaigned successful Green Bay, Wisconsin, wherever his rally successful April earlier this twelvemonth had near nan metropolis pinch much than $33,000 successful nationalist information costs, including astir $24,100 successful constabulary overtime, nan metropolis told ABC News.

This was aft nan Trump run successful 2016 near nan metropolis without much than $9,000 successful unpaid bills aft a run event. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's run besides has astir $12,000 successful unpaid bills from her rally location successful 2016, nan metropolis said. The metropolis is still determining full costs incurred from Trump's caller visit.

Vice President Kamala Harris' sojourn successful July costs Green Bay $635 for constabulary deployment, which nan Harris campaign had not yet paid arsenic of October, nan city's spokesperson told ABC News.

In different battleground authorities of Pennsylvania, nan metropolis of Erie has precocious sent an invoice of $63,190 to nan Trump run for his rally successful September but nan run has yet to respond to nan city's petition for payment, according to nan city's Communications Director Robert Lee.

The run already had unpaid bills of much than $35,000 successful Erie anterior to his September visit, including $5,200 from his rally successful July past twelvemonth and $32,000 from his rally successful 2018. Erie's spokesperson besides said nan metropolis plans to measure nan Harris run "for still-to-be-determined costs incurred by metropolis constabulary and different departments successful narration to her rally past month.

Asked astir unpaid bills to section agencies, a Trump run charismatic directed questions related to section rule enforcement and first responder costs to nan U.S. Secret Service.

A spokesperson for nan Secret Service successful a connection to ABC News acknowledged nan deficiency of system to reimburse section governments for costs incurred from supporting nan Secret Service contempt a "crucial" domiciled section rule enforcement agencies play successful nan operation.

"In caller discussions pinch Congressional leaders, we identified this arsenic a captious need, fixed nan basal domiciled our constabulary and nationalist information partners play," nan connection reads. "We are grateful for nan further backing provided successful nan continuing resolution, and we will proceed to activity pinch Congress to advocator for nan basal resources to support nan city, county, and authorities rule enforcement agencies that assistance america each day."

How cities are uncovering caller ways to guarantee costs from campaigns

Like Albuquerque, nan metropolis assembly of El Paso, Texas, has hired a rule patient to cod much than half a cardinal dollars successful unpaid bills from Trump's rally successful 2019, including astir $470,000 successful nationalist information costs and astir $99,000 successful one-time precocious fee. The metropolis is still seeking a costs from he campaign, a spokesperson told ABC News.

In Tucson, Arizona, nan metropolis decided not to prosecute astir $80,000 successful nationalist information costs incurred from a Trump rally successful 2016, nor did it pinch astir $40,000 incurred from Bernie Sanders' rally location successful that year, arsenic nan metropolis wished a ineligible action could beryllium much costly, nan city's spokesperson told ABC News.

Instead, erstwhile Trump returned to Tucson successful September, nan metropolis required nan run to salary estimated nationalist information costs successful beforehand on pinch nan installation rental costs – ensuring nan campaign's full costs of $145,222 up front, including astir $116,000 successful constabulary section costs.

In Eau Claire, a mini municipality successful Wisconsin, Trump's sojourn successful 2016 near nan metropolis pinch much than $47,000 successful unpaid bills and Clinton's sojourn nan aforesaid twelvemonth pinch $6,800 successful unpaid bills, contributing to nan city's operating fund going complete by astir $62,000 that year.

Eau Claire's fund expert Corey Lee told ABC News, "Overall, it is simply a debased disbursal successful nan expansive strategy of things" but added that "ideally, we would want to retrieve costs for circumstances that are unforeseen aliases extracurricular of normal metropolis operations."

"But we besides person nan work of protecting nan organization sloppy of nan circumstances," he said.

More recently, Eau Claire has been billing nationalist information costs done venues alternatively of straight sending invoices up beforehand to campaigns, to guarantee payments from campaigns -- including $4,000 from Sen. JD Vance's sojourn successful September and astir $16,000 from Harris' sojourn successful August.

Republican statesmanlike nominee erstwhile U.S. President Donald Trump attends a run rally astatine McCamish Pavilion, successful Atlanta, October 28, 2024.

Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters

Wisconsin mayor: 'We expect to beryllium reimbursed. Or we'd say, 'Don't come'

In Prairie Du Chien, a mini municipality successful Wisconsin of conscionable complete 5,000 population, Trump's run remarks focused connected separator information and immigration. The event, held astatine nan section precocious school's arts halfway successful September, near nan metropolis pinch $17,000 successful nationalist information costs.

The run paid nan section schoolhouse territory up of nan arena for renting retired nan arts halfway but didn't person an reply erstwhile Prairie du Chien's Mayor Dave Hemmer asked astir reimbursements for nationalist information costs successful beforehand of nan event.

"He fundamentally said we typically don't do that. And I said, well, I deliberation that's successful polite connection – I deliberation that's a bunch of BS," Hemmer said of his speech pinch nan run staffer earlier nan event. Hemmer said he besides asked nan staffer astir reimbursements connected nan time of nan event.

Prairie du Chien's Police Chief Kyle Treynor, who said connected shape arsenic 1 of nan pre-programming speakers during Trump's visit, told ABC News that nan Secret Service advised him to measure nan expenses to nan run if they wanted reimbursement arsenic nan work does not reimburse nan section constabulary section for these costs.

Treynor said constabulary chiefs of different cities successful nan Southwest region of Wisconsin that person likewise hosted Trump events person told him they person not gotten reimbursed from nan run either.

"So I person a deficiency of anticipation of being paid arsenic well. So we will invoice them and dream that they do nan correct point and pay. And if they don't, we'll see options astatine that point," he said.

Hemmer, nan mayor, said $17,000 is "not going to bankrupt us" but that it's "not a mini amount" to Prairie du Chien.

"Honestly, I don't expect to get 100% reimbursement, but I would beryllium happy to get 50% reimbursement. I deliberation that would astir apt make it a difference," Hemmer said.

"And I've had, we've had a mates of people, section residents, calling, saying, demanding, 'I want to cognize really overmuch it's cost, and are we going to get reimbursed for that?' And I don't person an reply either measurement correct now, because I don't cognize what nan last costs is," nan politician said.

Hemmer said candidates are invited to run successful Prairie du Chien -- but not if they don't salary their bills.

"He's invited here, but we request to person our bills paid, immoderate expenses incurred by america for him being here, aliases we don't really want him here," Hemmer said. "And I would opportunity that about, you cognize astir Trump aliases vice president here, Harris, nan aforesaid thing, because, like, we are a smaller metropolis and if we incurred expenses for illustration that, we expect to beryllium reimbursed. Or we'd say, 'Don't come.'"