It is hard to call Saturday’s Trump Boat Parade event in Okoboji anything other than a major success. The event, organized by Scott and Lori Kuchel as well as State Rep. John Wills, drew well over 1,000 boats.
“What a great day today on the Trump Boat Parade,” said Rep. Wills. “It was a lot of fun had by all. Wow, over a thousand boats by the estimate.”
Barbara Clayton, co-chair of the Dickinson County GOP, also celebrated the event.
“It was a very exciting day,” she said. “The number of boats was unbelievable! There were boats of all shapes and sizes. It was great to see the number of teenagers and twenty-somethings showing their patriotism and cheering on our President!”
Clayton said the thought entering the day was there would be around 700 boats. Current estimates point to 1,200-1,500 boats with about 3-4 times that many people.
Scott Kuchel said his wife, Lori, has friends from Florida who have participated in Trump boat parades.
“We decided to put it on Facebook and see where it went,” Scott said. “Rep. John Wills caught wind and it went viral. We expected maybe 50 boats or so. We were absolutely shocked what actually happened.”
Trump’s Iowa organization, including Eric Branstad, were on hand and helped make the event a success.
“The best thing about it was it was peaceful,” Scott said. “It was a spectacle like no other. It is hard to comprehend that three-and-a-half hours north in Minneapolis it looks like a war zone in places.
“Just goes to say that conservatives know how to do it right!”
Rep. Wills said people attended from all over the midwest.
“The parade was more successful than we imagined it would be,” he said. “There were thousands of boats and thousands of people who had a blast and celebrated our candidate and our President, Donald Trump. The whole thing was festive. All in all a great day.”
There will be another Trump Boat Parade on Aug. 15 at Big Spirit. That event is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and will start on the south side of the lake by the spillway.
Here are some of the sights and sounds from Saturday’s parade!
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