New St. Cloud mayor doubtful city will be reimbursed $200K for Trump rally

ST. CLOUD – Officials in St. Cloud continue to seek reimbursement for more than $200,000 in city services incurred as part of a rally for then-candidate Donald Trump in July.

But St. Cloud Mayor Jake Anderson isn’t optimistic the city will ever see any of that money.

“I’m not going to hold my breath,” he said Wednesday at a forum sponsored by the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce that featured six St. Cloud-area mayors.

The city has sent multiple invoices to the Trump campaign requesting reimbursement for about $209,000 in city services from the rally.

The first invoice, dated Sept. 10, broke down the costs borne by the city that went above and beyond typical services — about $63,000 for police costs, $62,000 for costs related to a change in a construction project near campus, $60,500 for public services, $21,000 for fire department costs and about $2,000 for IT-related costs.

Trump and his now-Vice President JD Vance visited central Minnesota on July 27, speaking to a capacity audience of 8,000 at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center while a large crowd gathered outside the arena to watch the speeches on a big screen.

Police helped block roads and direct traffic before the event and, when the campaign left the venue, city vehicles — including plows and construction trucks — blocked the cross streets of a main route near campus.

Officials from Trump’s campaign have referred questions about payment to the U.S. Secret Service, the organization that coordinated with local officials to ensure adequate safety measures for the event.

“We continue to invoice and attempt to locate the appropriate parties to invoice,” Anderson said. “There’s a disagreement, I guess, in terms of who believes what should be paid. Is that a Secret Service bill?”

But the Secret Service “lacks a mechanism to reimburse state and local governments for their support during protective events,” according to a spokesperson.

Anderson said he’s spoken with staff from U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer’s office about introducing possible legislation that would give the Secret Service the authority to reimburse local public safety agencies.

“There could be a legislative fix, right?” Anderson said. “The way I would envision it is, we would invoice Secret Service. They would pay. Then they would invoice whatever campaign they are working for.”

Emmer’s office did not return a request for comment.

In the fall, NBC News reported at least four cities were waiting to be reimbursed for costs associated with law enforcement during campaign visits; those costs total more than $750,000.

Minneapolis tried for years to get the Trump campaign to cover $530,000 in overtime and expenses after a 2019 rally at Target Center. The city eventually received about $100,000 in compensation.

“I don’t know how far you push this. That’s really the reality, right? We could try to take it to court,” Anderson said. “What the outcome of that is — I don’t know.”