Donald Trump and members of his Secret Service detail were briefly trapped in an elevator Friday before a campaign rally in Colorado Springs.
They were rescued by firefighters with the Colorado Springs Fire Department, which lowered a ladder into the elevator, allowing Trump and his entourage to climb out.
Two Trump campaign sources confirmed the incident to CNN. The story was first reported by the Denver Post.
Trump eventually took the stage at the rally, where he opened his remarks by blasting the local fire marshal for shutting off entry to his campaign event due to capacity restrictions.
“This is why our country doesn’t work,” Trump said as he slammed the Colorado Springs fire marshal during the rally, moments after the department’s firefighters rescued him. The paper reported that Trump said the fire marshal “didn’t know what he was doing and ‘was probably a Democrat.’ “
Fire marshal Brett Lacey told a local TV station that organizers handed out too many tickets and the venue couldn’t accommodate all of the people who wanted to attend.
“There’s an old adage that when a fire marshal walks into a room, milk curdles. So because we’re always looking out for public safety and trying to make certain venues go off successfully and safely sometimes there are people that aren’t very happy with some of the rules and regulations we’re required to enforce. But it doesn’t bother me at all,” Lacey said.
