Many Villagers have spotted the Trump Train 2024 bus in and around The Villages the past few days. Those who attended Trump rallies throughout the country have seen the 45-foot Trump Train bus as a regular feature at such events.
The Trump Train bus was at the Rohan Recreation Center parking lot Wednesday night, where Col. Phil Waldron was the featured speaker.
Waldron was claiming that the November election was stolen and that thousand of votes in Arizona were either stolen or wrongfully counted. Instead of the large crowds which had appeared at Villagers for Trump events last year, only a little more than 100 showed up for the night’s events.
Buddy Hall of Mississippi and his wife Lana own the Trump Train bus. Buddy Hall said that in 2016 he “became excited about Trump’s candidacy.” He said up until that point he did not regularly follow politics and rarely bothered to vote.
Hall, who had a number of Air B&B rental properties, invested in the touring bus which he covered with the Trump Train decals. He then hit the road, appearing at Trump events free of charge to the Trump campaign. He also brought the bus to other events for Republican candidates, also at no charge.
“The crowds love it and it helps draw voters to politicians’ events and the politicians love it, too, for that reason,” Hall said. Even Donald Trump Jr. has been on the bus.
The pandemic forced the bus off the road and Hall spent several months in Arizona. Last year it cost $120,000 to maintain the bus.
“Sadly, in order to keep the bus going all over the USA promoting our greatest president ever, Donald J. Trump, we have to sell hats, shirts coins, flags in the hot and cold weather to pay the high expenses to keep the bus going. Many people come to the bus and say, ‘Great job, we are behind you and support you,’ but sadly do nothing to help,” Hall said.
He is holding out hope that the bus may one day wind up at the Trump Presidential Library.
