Hundreds of Americans waving flags and homemade signs, a spontaneous presidential motorcade, and numerous TV cameras capturing the action. This was the scene on Sunday, Oct. 4 outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
President Donald Trump spent three days at the military hospital after he announced early on Oct. 2 that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus.
After Marine One flew the president to the center on the evening of Oct. 2, well-wishers quickly began lining up on MD-355 to show support for the president.
Footage of the rally outside Walter Reed’s large gates began surfacing that night on social media and led to massive crowds showing up the following days.
Sunday saw the largest gathering, with hundreds of pro-Trump Americans traveling from surrounding states to cheer the president and his medical team on during his recovery.
The scene was energetic and patriotic. Signs bearing slogans like “Muslim Americans for Trump,” “Immigrants for Trump,” and “Amish for Trump” lined the road for hundreds of feet. One attendee described the gathering as “a huge love fest.” Another said it was “the most patriotic thing I’ve ever seen.”
Supporters across the nation called into local restaurants and had dozens of pizzas sent to the rally. Trump himself paid for pizzas to be delivered on Sunday evening. The Trump campaign passed out hundreds of free masks, telling recipients that “these are a gift directly from the president.”
The president’s tweets thanking supporters and saying he could hear their cheers motivated the crowd.
Around 5 p.m., dozens of police and Secret Service officers began lining the street and ordering the attendees to stay on the sidewalk. Rumors spread through the crowd that Vice President Mike Pence may be visiting the hospital, so a motorcade could be coming through.
Ten minutes later, police cars began driving down the street, followed by black SUVs followed. The crowd was yelling “It’s Pence!” until a car in the middle of the motorcade neared. There was the president, smiling and giving thumbs-ups to the crowd from his vehicle.
The energy on the sidewalk erupted.
“It’s Trump! It’s Trump!” people screamed.
The cheers were deafening as people began to run with the motorcade. The president was smiling, clapping, and cheering inside the vehicle as it drove past.
Secret Service agents screamed for people to stay off the street as the procession sped up. Once out of sight, people looked at one another with an expression of awe and shock.
“Is he coming back?” one man asked a police officer. “I have no idea,” the cop replied.
A minute later, the motorcade drove back toward the hospital, and the president showed his appreciation for the people on the other side of the street. News agencies had set up tents on the grass to cover the president’s stay, and all the cameras were recording as the armored vehicles drove past.
The crowd yelled and waved signs as the motorcade pulled back into the heavily guarded grounds of the hospital. People across the rally were yelling about the president pointing to them or giving them a thumbs up. The appreciation and joy people had for the president taking time to come out and say hello was evident.
In the following hours, Trump faced fierce backlash for his spontaneous trip outside his hospital room. For supporters gathered outside the hospital, however, the gesture was unforgettable.
