Over 200 boats paraded for Trump across MS Coast on July 4. More events are planned.
American flags weren’t the only ones flying on Mississippi Sound waters for the Fourth of July.
Trump supporters on the Coast took to the water for a “Trump Boat Parade” that drew approximately 220 boats, according to organizer Bo Smith.
The boat parades for President Donald Trump have taken place all across the country with thousands participating on the Fourth of July weekend.
Smith is a native of Braxton, Miss., but with the large amount of boaters around the state and especially on the Coast, he created the Mississippi Boaters for Trump Facebook page to organize the July 4 event and future parades.
“No one in our area was doing it, so we went around getting people,” Smith said. “I just wanted to have a parade like they were doing in other places around the country.”
Smith received a permit for the parade through the Department of Marine Resources before it closed as the Legislature was fighting over funding.
Before the event, Smith said he thought there would be 50-100 boats, and was surprised when there were more than 200 by the end of the Bay St. Louis to Biloxi route across the Coast.
“I was shocked,” Smith said. “We had a line of boats as far as 5 miles long with some people cheering and supporting from the banks and beaches.”
Campaigning has been limited by the pandemic for both major presidential candidates, Trump and presumed Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Trump is known for having large rallies, but many seats went unfilled at the most recent event in Tulsa.
“With all this going on, we can’t do that right now,” Smith said. He lives with his 86-year-old father and said he makes a point to do what he can to protect himself and his family.
“When you’re on a boat, you have use social distancing from each other,” he said. “I think everyone has their own personal responsibility, but on my boat it was just family.”
Smith hopes that organizing boat parades like these will safely get others involved and play a part in campaigning for Trump in Mississippi.
“I strongly believe in the Republican Party,” Smith said. “I feel like this is one way to contribute to the campaign. With as many boaters that Mississippi has, I knew we had to do it.”
Smith said the group plans to host multiple “Trump boat parades” in Mississippi throughout the year until the November vote.
The next parade on the Coast is tentatively planned for July 25 in Pascagoula. Smith hopes to hold another parade to Biloxi later this year.
This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 3:33 PM.