Does a Ticket Guarantee Your Entry into Trump's Wildwood Rally?

Scrolling through various social media sites, it seems like everyone has tickets to attend the rally in Wildwood at the end of January with President Trump and Congressman Jeff Van Drew. But do those tickets guarantee entry?

Given the popularity and/or polarization surrounding President Trump and, with his recent party switch, Congressman Jeff Van Drew, I would have assumed tickets to the rally would have disappeared very quickly, much like how a huge concert sells-out in a matter of minutes. And being that the Wildwoods Convention Center only holds about 7,000 people, I expected the tickets to disappear that much quicker. But then I saw people posting online that they just got their tickets and it was hours after passes became available.

So, if you have a ticket, are you guaranteed to get in?

It would appear not, based on recent events.

Now, let me clarify that I have an e-mail out to the Trump campaign asking for them to clarify the ticket situation and if or when they respond, this story will be updated. Until then, play it safe and assume tickets DO NOT guarantee admission.

In September, 2019, President Trump held a rally in Fayetteville, NC. On the venue's website, they stated, "Registration/ticket(s) to the event DOES NOT guarantee entry. Entrance into the event is first come, first serve."

Last October, the President held a rally in Lake Charles, Louisiana. WVUE-TV reported, "Having a ticket doesn’t guarantee entry. Organizers recommend getting to Civic Center as early as possible because entrance will be on a first-come, first-serve basis."

President Trump held a rally in Dallas, TX, on October 17, 2019, at a 20,000-seat arena. A report by heavy.com stated, "The tickets don’t guarantee a seat: seats are still first-come, first-served."

Notice a trend?

For his rally last month in Hershey, PA, pennlive.com said this about the same question:

...the Trump campaign uses rally registration to collect information from supporters, for reasons ranging from soliciting donations to getting out the vote on election day. The campaign is known to issue more tickets than a venue can hold. That means the Giant Center, listed as having 10,500 seats, could fill up before everyone with a ticket gets inside.

Again, while no official information has been released by the Trump campaign about the tickets vs. capacity question for the Wildwood rally, at this point if you want to get inside the Wildwoods Convention Center to see President Trump and Congressman Jeff Van Drew, plan on getting there early.

Really, really early.

The event is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, January 28th. Doors are set to open at 4:00 that afternoon. The venue holds about 7,000 people. If you want to get inside, plan on waiting in line hours in advance of the doors opening to be on the safe side.

Keep in mind that if you are going to make an effort to get in, you will see Secret Service-level security. Bring the very basic, minimal amount of stuff with you. Don't risk being denied entry because you are carrying seven beach chairs and a giant cooler.

Also, be prepared to potentially have to walk pretty far. Again, with Secret Service-level security, expect several streets to be closed in the area, which means you might be parking far from the convention center.

As more information becomes available, we will update this story.