It’s not every day you see a former President of the United States—and at the time, the leading Republican candidate—leaning out of the window of a multi-ton sanitation vehicle. But on a chilly Wednesday in late October 2024, that’s exactly what happened on a tarmac in Green Bay.
Donald Trump didn't just ride in the truck. He used it as a rolling stage.
The image of Trump in a neon orange safety vest, struggling slightly with the door handle before climbing into the passenger seat of a white Loadmaster garbage truck, became an instant hallmark of the 2024 campaign's final stretch. Honestly, it was one of those "only in American politics" moments. You’ve got the high-stakes tension of a battleground state like Wisconsin mixed with the pure theater of a man who knows exactly how to hijack a news cycle.
Why was Donald Trump in a garbage truck anyway?
To understand the truck, you have to understand the verbal grenade that went off just 24 hours earlier. It basically started with a "garbage" comment—or rather, two of them.
A few days prior, at a Trump rally in Madison Square Garden, a comedian named Tony Hinchcliffe made a joke that landed like a lead balloon, calling Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage." The backlash was swift. Democrats jumped on it, and for a minute, the Trump campaign was back-pedaling.
Then, President Joe Biden jumped on a Zoom call.
While trying to defend Puerto Ricans, Biden said: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.” The White House quickly moved into damage-control mode. They claimed Biden was talking about the rhetoric of the comedian, not the millions of people who vote Republican. They even added an apostrophe in the official transcript—making it "supporter's"—to imply he meant just the one guy. But the damage was done. The Trump team saw an opening and they took it.
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The Green Bay stunt: A breakdown of the optics
Trump landed at the Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport on October 30. Usually, he steps off Trump Force One in a crisp suit and a long tie. Not this time.
He emerged wearing a bright, reflective orange safety vest over his dress shirt. He walked across the tarmac to a garbage truck that had been specially wrapped with the "Make America Great Again" logo and American flags.
The climb and the quote
If you watch the footage, there’s a moment of physical struggle. Trump, then 78, reached for the handle and missed it twice. He later joked about this during his rally, telling the crowd he was terrified of falling because "the fake news" was watching.
"How do you like my garbage truck?" he asked reporters while leaning out the window. "This truck is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden."
He stayed in the truck for a brief Q&A, hammering the point that "250 million people are not garbage." It was a classic "flip the script" move. He took an insult directed at his base and turned it into a uniform.
The "Thinner" vest and the rally speech
One of the funniest, or maybe just most "Trump-like" details of the night, was his explanation for why he kept the vest on for the actual rally.
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Normally, the vest would come off before he hit the podium. But according to Trump, his staff told him he looked thinner in the orange vest. He told the Green Bay crowd that once they said the word "thinner," he decided he might never wear a suit jacket again.
He ended up delivering his entire speech in that high-vis gear.
The rally featured former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who doubled down on the theme. Favre told the audience that he saw police officers, teachers, and grandparents in the room—not "garbage." This resonated deeply in a state like Wisconsin, where the "blue-collar" identity is a huge part of the political landscape.
Did the stunt actually work?
Political analysts are split on this, and they probably always will be.
On one hand, the garbage truck was a masterclass in earned media. It cost the campaign almost nothing (besides the rental and the wrap), yet it dominated the headlines for 48 hours. It effectively ended the conversation about the Puerto Rico joke and replaced it with a conversation about Biden’s "garbage" gaffe.
On the other hand, critics called it "cosplay." They pointed out that Trump has used similar language himself, once calling his political opponents "the enemy within" and "scum."
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But in the world of SEO and viral moments, the truck won. It provided a visual "anchor" for the "deplorables 2.0" narrative. It gave his supporters a sense of shared identity—a "us versus the elites" vibe that has been the backbone of his movement since 2016.
Real-world impact in Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a game of inches. In 2020, the state was decided by about 20,000 votes. In 2024, every single stunt, rally, and soundbite mattered. By showing up in Green Bay—the heart of "Packer Country"—and leaning into the garbage man persona, Trump was signaling to the working-class voters of the Fox Valley that he was one of them.
Key takeaways from the garbage truck moment
If you're looking at this from a historical or strategic perspective, there are a few things that really stand out:
- Agility is king: The Trump campaign moved from a Biden gaffe to a fully wrapped truck and a coordinated outfit in less than 24 hours. That kind of speed is rare in a corporate-style campaign.
- Visuals over words: Most people won't remember the specifics of the Biden transcript or the White House clarification. They will remember the photo of the guy in the orange vest in the truck.
- The "Deplorable" effect: Much like Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables" comment in 2016, the "garbage" comment allowed the GOP to play the underdog/victim card, which is a powerful motivator for voter turnout.
How to look at political stunts like this
When you see a politician doing something this "extra," it's usually for one of three reasons:
- Distraction: Moving the needle away from a negative story (like the Madison Square Garden backlash).
- Identity Politics: Creating a "uniform" or a symbol that supporters can rally around.
- Content Creation: Giving social media and news outlets a "can't-miss" image that forces them to talk about the candidate.
The garbage truck hit all three. Whether you loved it or hated it, it was an effective piece of political theater that underscored the deep divisions and the high-octane "meme-ability" of modern American elections.
If you’re following these kinds of political optics, keep an eye on how candidates use "blue-collar" props. From Michael Dukakis in a tank to Kerry in hunting gear, these moments can either make a candidate look "in touch" or completely out of their element. In Trump's case, the garbage truck seemed to fit the "performer" brand he’s built over decades.
Next Steps for You
If you want to dig deeper into how these moments influence voting behavior, you should look up the "earned media value" of political stunts. You might also find it interesting to compare the "garbage" comment to the 2016 "deplorables" speech to see how the two campaigns handled the fallout differently. Reading the official White House transcript versus the raw video of Biden's Zoom call is also a great exercise in seeing how political messaging is crafted in real-time.