Wildwood regularly welcomes thousands of people to its beaches during the summer, so its mayor says the city is ready to host former President Donald Trump, who is returning in May for a campaign rally.
The Trump campaign has for years been criticized for not covering all of the expenses incurred by communities that host a rally, including Wildwood. That won’t happen this time, Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano told NJ Advance Media, saying the campaign has already given the city “thousands of dollars” to cover expenses.
“They’ve already sent a check, and the check’s been deposited,” Troiano said. “It’s working out absolutely perfect.”
During Trump’s reelection run, his campaign left an open tab of about $841,000 in 10 cities, according to a 2019 report from the Center for Public Integrity. El Paso, Texas, calculated it had about $470,000 in unreimbursed expenses, the largest of any of the cities included in the report.
The Trump campaign did not immediately return a request for comment on its reimbursement policies.
Former Wildwood Mayor Peter Byron previously said he planned to get a running tab on the 2020 rally, saying he was not invited to attend the rally because he asked for the city to be reimbursed for expenses. Troiano said he wasn’t familiar with unreimbursed expenses related to Trump’s 2020 rally.
Wildwood is not a lavish resort community, though some may perceive it to be, Troiano said, saying it us up to the organizers of events held in the city to cover associated costs.
“This is the way we do business,” Troiano said. “We can’t foot this bill. We’re not a wealthy community. I think the only thing Wildwood will handle here is the prosperity from all the tens of thousands of people that will be coming here.”
Troiano declined to elaborate exactly how much money the Trump campaign has given the city, but said it was “thousands of dollars.” The funds will be used to pay for police and security personnel, and for the cleanup after the rally. The campaign also paid a fee to Wildwood to use its beaches.
“We (Wildwood) gave them (Trump campaign) that figure, and they paid us for it,” Troiano said. “That’s based on our past experience and what we had to do and the fact that this is going to be in the footprint of the country music festival, so we know what some of those costs were from that. We feel we have it under control.”
NJ Advance Media has submitted an Open Public Records Act request for documents detailing anticipated expenses and reimbursements for next month’s rally.
The rally will be held on May 11 on Wildwood’s beaches, and ticket requests are being taken. The section of beach that will host Trump’s rally can accommodate up to 40,000 people.
Trump’s first visit to Wildwood was in January 2020. This time, he will be holding a rally just as Wildwood ramps up its busy summer season. The rally was also announced just before the start of the former president’s criminal trial in Manhattan.
Trump’s visit is one of several other events taking place in Wildwood on Mother’s Day weekend. The Spring Fling Festival takes place on May 11, just a few blocks from the beach where Trump will speak. The event includes food vendors and live music.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.
