# Want to protest a Trump appearance, without having to be there? Do this! **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 26, 2026, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-protest-a-trump-appearance-without-having-to-be-there-do-this/1027025 "2026-01-26T00:36:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-protest-a-trump-appearance-without-having-to-be-there-do-this/1027025/1 "2026-01-26T00:36:31Z")
Two days from now, January 27, 2026, the Dumpster is planning to make an appearance in the Des Moines suburb of Clive, Iowa. You can do what I did: register for a “ticket” with no intention of attending, a la the infamous Tulsa rally. (MAYBE - I just checked the link, and it was dead. Never hurts to try, anyway.) There will be other opportunities to do this, both for him, and for other people as well. > **[Trump in Iowa: How to reserve tickets for president's speech Jan. 27, 2026](https://www.kcci.com/article/president-donald-trump-des-moines-speech-tickets-clive-iowa-horizon-events-center/70107694)** > > You can now register to attend President Donald Trump's speech next week in central Iowa. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-protest-a-trump-appearance-without-having-to-be-there-do-this/1027025/2 "2026-01-26T00:58:31Z")
They will tell the truth about the registration, then lie about the actual attendance…just like they have done before. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-protest-a-trump-appearance-without-having-to-be-there-do-this/1027025/3 "2026-01-26T03:46:36Z")
“It was the bigliest group in the history of Clive!” During the 2024 campaign, he spoke at an auditorium here that has a capacity of about 2,500, and while it WAS full, he kept claiming that 3,500 were in attendance. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-protest-a-trump-appearance-without-having-to-be-there-do-this/1027025/4 "2026-01-26T06:47:28Z")
And that adds your email and contact details to their databases. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-protest-a-trump-appearance-without-having-to-be-there-do-this/1027025/5 "2026-01-26T06:49:32Z")
True, but maybe we could crash some servers in the meantime. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-protest-a-trump-appearance-without-having-to-be-there-do-this/1027025/6 "2026-01-26T06:53:00Z")
Silly me, should have thought of this first - nothing to stop enough people creating new gmail identities just for this ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-protest-a-trump-appearance-without-having-to-be-there-do-this/1027025/7 "2026-01-26T06:54:30Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > True It seems to require Facebook, and the only FB account I occasionally look at is that of my deceased dog… I can probably risk a bit of spam. Of course, my dog, being South African, and, well, a dead dog, I suspect that account may confound their targeted marketing strategies. I therefore signed up, as a fuck you to the Trump machine. Tiny, tiny protest, but another grain of sand in the wheels. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-protest-a-trump-appearance-without-having-to-be-there-do-this/1027025/8 "2026-01-26T15:05:47Z")
Darn, says it’s “no longer available” ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-protest-a-trump-appearance-without-having-to-be-there-do-this/1027025/9 "2026-01-26T15:11:12Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > And that adds your email and contact details to their databases. One should have at least one (or more) “throw way” email addresses, just for this reason. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-protest-a-trump-appearance-without-having-to-be-there-do-this/1027025/10 "2026-01-26T23:54:05Z")
The RSVPs probably reached venue capacity in number. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-protest-a-trump-appearance-without-having-to-be-there-do-this/1027025/11 "2026-01-27T04:15:09Z")
In the meantime, I looked up the proposed venue; it’s called Horizon Event Center, and has an SRO capacity of 3,000. I would not be surprised if Mr. Dumpster says at some point that this will be the biggest crowd ever in the history of central Iowa. Ahem, John Paul II would like to have a word with you. I was there myself, although I slept through the Mass; we had a sandwich booth as a fundraiser for the marching band, and I’d had to get up at about 2am. > **[Saint Pope John Paul II Visits Living History Farms](https://www.lhf.org/aboutus-2/saint-pope-john-paul-ii-visit/)** > > On October 4th, 1979, we had the honor of hosting Saint Pope John Paul II during his visit to Iowa. With him, we celebrated an outdoor mass on our grounds! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2026, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-protest-a-trump-appearance-without-having-to-be-there-do-this/1027025/12 "2026-01-28T00:12:25Z")
Update: I have no idea what the attendance was, nor do I really care, but I am not seeing any accounts of troublemaking, let alone arrests. There was also a pop-up ICE protest at a very busy intersection near my house. I should keep a sign in the trunk of my car, to get out and display in case I happen to come across one. One side says “SHAME SHAME SHAME” in different fonts, and “Abolish ICE” over an ice cube with a no-parking sign over it. (Stick-on letters.) ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-protest-a-trump-appearance-without-having-to-be-there-do-this/1027025/13 "2026-01-29T12:59:49Z")
He gave a speech. People were there. He lied a lot his accomplishments. He attacked his enemies. He was somewhat more coherent than usual. So nothing worthy of note. [https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/27/trump-iowa-shift-conversation-economy-00751246](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/27/trump-iowa-shift-conversation-economy-00751246)