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Published 12:02 06 Sep 2020 GMT
A water-based pro-Trump rally ended in disaster this week after several of the participating vessels sank beneath the waves of Lake Travis.
In what the President’s opponents will be hoping is not a metaphor for the rest of the campaign, around four boats became flooded, leading experts to blame the large number of boats on the small lake for causing excess chop.
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Although an investigation has been launched into the incident, officials have found absolutely no evidence of any intentional act of sabotage. As Travis County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kristen Dark explained in a statement:
"We responded to multiple calls of boats in distress, several of them sank. We had an exceptional number of boats on the lake today... When they all started moving at the same time, it generated significant waves."
Watch As Couple's Sailboat Sinks Two Days After Departing:
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Although local media report many people being rescued from the water, it appears as though there were no serious injuries at the scene. However, according to The New York Times, as many as four vessels sank without a trace.
The event itself was originally promoted on a Facebook group dubbed “Lake Travis Trump Boat Parade”. More than 2,600 people had suggested that they would be attending, with a further 5,000 declaring their interest in participating.
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The description of the event encouraged “boats of all shapes and sizes” to participate, and also suggested that flag displays and banners were to be a key feature.
Predictably, social media was less than sympathetic to the sunken boat owners. Before long, the hashtag "Dumbkirk" began trending. One Twitter user declared, “Decades of atheism are over. I now believe in God.” Another added, “Those boats are losers. I prefer boats that stay afloat,” in an echo of the President’s recent alleged comments about military personnel.
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