How a Donald Trump campaign event comes together
WATERLOO, Iowa -- The disco ball in the Electric Ballroom at the National Cattle Congress never comes down. Except today. The giant 3-ft wide ball covered in mini mirrors, it seems, will obstruct the TV cameras' view of Donald Trump's campaign rally. So workers drag two ladders onto the dance floor and lower the mirror-laden disco ball to the floor, then carry it into a dishware closet.
Sitting in at the dimly lit bar on Tuesday afternoon with a bag of pretzels and a Diet Pepsi, concessions manager Karen Coffin stares at the ceiling above the dance floor with narrowed eyes. She really didn't want to see the ball come down because it has presided over every event she has been a part of in that ballroom.
Coffin says in August, she pitched the idea of hosting Trump at the Black Hawk County Republican fundraiser to his state director, Chuck Laudner, who is fond of the venue. Laudner and Coffin traded business cards over the sizzling roast beef meal that Coffin was serving. Two weeks ago, the campaign set the date.
The Trump advance team, led by George Gigicos, arrives at the ballroom Tuesday morning from New York. They put up four flags - two American and two Iowa - on the stage where Trump will speak.
The Electric Park Ballroom sign will need to come down, too. The production company brings in another two flags.
Coffin said setting up a political event differs from a wedding - the kind of affair she usually sets up in the venue - in that "there are a lot more bosses."
"She likes to be in control," a Trump team member says quietly while looking at Coffin from across the room. Coffin is standing behind the bar, delegating.
Meanwhile, about 40 metal 10-foot bike racks are hauled into the ballroom to create a barrier around the stage and around the area for the press riser. Outside, the racks create the border for an overflow area that can hold 2,500 people.
Then the media and check-in tables go into place.
At 3pm the Sound Concepts team backs up its truck to the front of the building, and six guys unload the materials for the stage, which takes six hours to build, including press risers, 10 speakers, 600 feet of extension cords, more than 60 feet of black drape, a generator, six microphones, boxes housing plugins and extra speakers, a multitude of light stands, and more.
Thirty-one-year-old Ben Stoker colors in the chips on the speakers with a black sharpie. Stoker has never done a Trump event but a few weeks ago Sound Concepts produced a Bernie Sanders event in Iowa. Stoker volunteered to work that event.
"I like the idea he has for education. I'm kind of a socialist myself," Stoker says of Bernie Sanders with a laugh. "But when it comes to work I really don't mind where the money comes from."
Trump's security team walks around the space. They spot an oversize trash can in the path that Trump will take to exit the building and note that it will need to be moved.
There is one thing Coffin hopes to get from Trump: a Trump hat for her husband. He loves Trump.
Coffin, too, is excited about Trump's event.
"Out of all the events I have done it is going to be Donald Trump, Coffin explains. She likes his stance on the military and on veterans, and the fact that "he did not start out in government."
At 6 pm the setup shows no signs of completion and Coffin is hungry. She runs out to get Chinese food from HyVee for herself and her colleagues who are still there. Over orange chicken Coffin recalls the visits of Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton - she cooked for both, 1500 hot dogs when Hillary came and potato salad when Bill came.
The Trump advance team and the Sound Concepts staff leave the Ballroom around 9pm.
Wednesday, Oct. 7, Event Day
It is still dark out when Coffin and her team arrive before 7am to open the gates to the ballroom's parking lot and start coffee brewing behind the bar.
At 9am the Trump Iowa field staffers and about a dozen volunteers file in. Fifty-one-year-old Kim Tranmer drove two hours from Des Moines to volunteer. She has been assigned to count every person who enters the event. She hasn't cast a vote since Ross Perot last ran, but she supports Trump because of his business experience.
The media begin to arrive with their satellite trucks and SUVs.
Ryan Rutabega is the only member of the Sound Concept team that is on the ground during the event itself. He sets up a microphone in the outdoor overflow crowd area.
Seven Waterloo Police officers arrive for security purposes.
At 10:40am the doors open. Tranmer counts 220 people in first seven minutes and as more attendees show up she and another counting volunteer compare numbers. They are tasked with ensuring the campaign adheres to the strict 1,100-person room limit.
The room waits. Posters are handed out, Trump chants breaks out and one woman clad in a Trump t-shirt leans up against the wall, grumbles to herself, "This is boring."
A grandfather and his granddaughter try to sneak a peek behind the black drape where Trump will be kept before hitting the stage. Trump staffers tell them to stop meddling with the drape for "security purposes. "Are you kidding me?" the grandfather moans.
At 12:17pm Trump takes the stage and speaks for about 55 minutes. When a few climate change protesters create a scene, they are escorted out of the room by the Waterloo Police. Meanwhile, speakers broadcast the speech into the outdoor overflow area that that is slowly filling up.
Trump makes his way from the stage to the outdoor area. The Waterloo police bring Coffin up to shake Trump's hand. "They take care of me," Coffin says with a smile.
Before delivering short remarks to the overflow crowd, Trump is rushed by the media.
"There is no strategy, we just want to make America great again, that's my strategy," Trump tells reporters. He thanks the outdoor crowd, shakes a few hands, hops into a black SUV, and drives off.
***
The Sound Concept team rolls in as Trump and his entourage roll out. It takes about 3 hours to break down the whole setup. As is the case with all of their events, breaking down is easier than setting up.
Doling out Domino's pizza to her team, Coffin watches the breakdown from her perch at the bar and reflects on the event.
"No matter who you are, never speak too long," Coffin says of Trump's speech.
Coffin got her Trump hat. Gigicos gave her the black cap on his way out, noting that it matched her all-black "ensemble."
"They were a good team to work with," Coffin says of the Trump team. Then, she frantically picks up the phone to make wine orders for this weekend. On Friday night there is a fundraiser and on Saturday there is a wedding. Hollering goodbye to everyone, Coffin leaves the ballroom around 4 pm to rest up.
At 4:30 pm the Sound Concepts truck departs. They hope the campaign asks them to do another event.
Kevin Foster, who works for Coffin, is still stacking the chairs in the back of the ballroom.
Foster, who has been working at National Cattle Congress for 26 years, gets paid $9 an hour. He likes it best when bands come through the ballroom because he collects picks from the famous musicians. His prized picks are from Lynyrd Skynyrd and Dierks Bentley. But, today wasn't so bad either.
"Hell, I never saw a billionaire in person. Well, I have now!" he exclaims. At 6pm, he is the last one to leave the ballroom.