Donald Trump

‘Outta Space' Float Featuring Trump and Clinton Causes Stir in Maine

A parade float in the small town of Kingfield, Maine, has been causing a stir for more than a week.

The weekend of July 20, a float showing President Donald Trump standing over Hillary Clinton, who is wearing a pinstripe suit and building a brick wall, appeared in the Kingfield Festival Days parade.

Some in town are now questioning whether or not it should have been allowed.

The float was an interpretation of the parade's "outer space" theme — a sign on the float read, "We're Outta Space," alluding to the U.S. not having space for immigrants.

Julia Bouwsma was on a different float directly behind "Outta Space."

"I saw people who were cheering and hollering, I saw people who were very upset," said Bouwsma, who felt the image of the president standing over Clinton and the wall reference was sexist, hateful and racist. "People are entitled to their beliefs. I'm entitled to my beliefs. But I think we have to ask questions, particularly when they cross over to territory where they can be harmful."

That's why Bouwsma says she wrote a letter signed by 28 people that will run in a local newspaper this week asking people living in and around Kingfield if the float sends a "message" most people want a community event to have.

Some who saw the float disagree that it went too far.

"I thought it was awesome," said Patty Thomas.

Thomas, an independent, says she is not a Trump supporter, but she thought the float was a creative and artistic expression with a message.

"I'm not a great fan of Trump, but the float itself, it was incredible," she said.

The president does have many fans in the town, including some who supported the float but did not wish to speak on the record.

Trump also carried the town, winning more than 51 percent of the vote in Kingfield in the 2016 election, according to the Portland Press Herald.

As for whether or not similar floats will be allowed in the future, festival organizers say that is something they're still considering.

"We on the committee come up with a theme and individuals and businesses create floats. We have volunteers that help us to register and line up the floats," festival organizers said in a statement. "In the past, we haven't really had to monitor or restrict floats, but moving forward we may need to look into that. We will discuss this at our next committee meeting.

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