The garbage truck that played a key role in one of US President-elect Donald Trump‘s most viral campaign moments in 2024 will be part of his inauguration parade next Monday, according to an unnamed source from the inauguration committee, as reported by The Midwesterner.
As Washington DC, prepares for Inauguration Day, which will include the traditional presidential parade along with other ceremonies and events, the truck, manufactured by Loadmaster, a Michigan-based company, will be one of 39 entries in the parade.
Story behind the ‘garbage’ truck
The truck gained symbolic significance during Trump’s campaign when he used it to criticize US President Joe Biden‘s alleged remarks referring to Trump supporters as “garbage.”
The controversy began when a speaker at a Trump rally called Puerto Rico, a Caribbean island and unincorporated US territory, garbage. Biden responded to the Puerto Rico garbage comment, saying, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his [Trump’s] supporters—his—his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
On October 30, 2024, after Biden’s ‘garbage’ comment, Trump arrived at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in the Loadmaster truck, which featured the Trump 2024 campaign logo. Trump told reporters,”How do you like my garbage truck? This truck is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.” Videos of the event went viral on social media.
Biden’s comment and Trump’s truck stunt turned “garbage” into a symbol for Trump supporters to rally around, similar to how they embraced the “deplorables” label after Hillary Clinton’s infamous remark in 2016.
Loadmaster vice president Andrew Brisson, who drove the truck, recounted the experience to WFRV Green Bay, saying, “Started up the truck, blew the air horn, and then Trump looked over at me and said, ‘Can you take me for a ride in this thing?'”
7,500 participants in the parade
The inauguration parade featuring the garbage truck will take place on Monday, with outgoing President Biden attending the swearing-in ceremony, as per tradition. The Trump Vance inaugural committee said that the parade will feature nearly 7,500 participants from 23 states.
A long-lived tradition
The presidential parade has been part of the Inauguration Day celebrations since the early days of the United States. The tradition has evolved over time, with the parade becoming an official event during US President James Madison’s inauguration in 1809.
The Trump Vance inaugural committee said in a release, “Inaugural parades are a long-lived tradition—dating back to President Washington’s first election, when impromptu crowds of supporters followed and cheered behind him as he traveled from Mount Vernon to New York City. Presidents Adams and Jefferson also had spontaneous parades, which continued until the inauguration of President James Madison in 1809, when they became an official part of the event.”
