OAKS, Pa. (AP) — Donald Trump 's town hall in the Philadelphia suburbs turned into an impromptu concert Monday after the former president was twice interrupted by medical emergencies in the room.
The Republican presidential nominee paused during a question-and-answer session as a doctor in the room attended to the first person to have a medical issue. After a second emergency halted the discusion moderated by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Trump stopped taking questions. He and Noem mentioned it was hot in the venue, and Trump asked about air conditioning.
“They probably can't afford it, sir, in this economy,” Noem quipped.
During the first interruption, Trump requested “Ave Maria” be played and was answered with an instrumental version of the song. During the second incident, he said he meant Italian opera singer Luciano Pavarotti’s version of the song. It was promptly tuned up.
Once Noem announced the second person was up and moving, Trump spoke for a few more minutes before calling for music to be played, as many in the crowd lingered, unsure whether he was done speaking.
“Those two people who went down are patriots,” Trump said after the music. “We love them. And because of them, we ended up with some great music, right?”
Trump suggested they could wrap up the evening with the audience in their seats, enjoying some musical selections rather than hearing him answer more questions.
He called for the Village People’s “YMCA" and it blasted through the loudspeakers, the usual signal that Trump is done speaking and is ready to leave. But he remained onstage.
More music, more dancing.
“Nobody’s leaving,” Trump said. “What’s going on?”
More music played — and for roughly 40 minutes, it didn't stop.
Trump bopped and shimmied onstage to an eclectic playlist of songs that included Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U," Rufus Wainwright’s cover of “Hallelujah" and Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain.”
Many of his supporters made their way to the exits, but some stayed through the end. The scene was reminiscent of Trump’s winters at Mar-a-Lago, his South Florida estate, where he likes to play DJ and hold court with the wealthy members of his private club.
Finally, Trump left the stage as “Memory” from the musical “Cats” played.
Karoline Leavitt, Trump's national press secretary, published on the social media site X a photo of Trump from the side of the stage. “DJ TRUMP!” she wrote.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote on X that “something very special is happening in Pennsylvania” as the scene unfolded, adding Trump “is unlike any politician in history, and it's great.”
Cooper reported from Phoenix.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Oaks, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump reads a note that Justin Caporale brought onto the stage at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Oaks, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A man raises his fist as he taken away on a stretcher as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Oaks, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump checks on a person having a medical emergency at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Oaks, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Rebecca Kimmel sat in a small room, stunned and speechless, staring at the baby photo she had just unearthed from her adoption file.
Something about the photo — the eyes, the ears, an uneasy feeling deep in her gut — confirmed what the Korean adoptee had long suspected: This baby was not her. And the stories she'd been told about herself were a lie. But then who was she? Who IS she?
Thousands of South Korean adoptees are looking to satisfy a raw, compelling urge that much of the world takes for granted: the search for identity. Like many of them, Kimmel has stumbled into a web of switched photos, made-up stories and false documents, all designed to erase the very identity she desperately wants to find.
These adoptees live with the consequences of a tacit partnership by the South Korean government, Western nations and adoption agencies that has supplied some 200,000 children to parents overseas, despite warnings of widespread fraud.
After a long search with many twists, Kimmel still doesn’t know who she is. But in the process, she arranged a reunion between a birth father and his twin daughters, who had been separated for decades.
Here are some steps Korean adoptees could take to learn more about their past:
Adoptees can first request information from their adoption agencies. If they don’t get results from agencies, they can contact the South Korean government’s National Center for the Rights of the Child as a second step.
Birth searches can take months and aren’t always successful. Less than a fifth of 15,000 adoptees who have asked the government for help with family searches since 2012 have managed to reunite with relatives, according to data obtained by AP. Failures are often caused by inaccurate records or the practice of describing children as abandoned even when they had known parents.
Many adoptees also criticize the consent process for reunions. Adoption agencies and the NCRC can only use traditional mail, and only up to three times per search, to contact birth parents for their consent to provide personal details to adoptees and meet them. Privacy laws prevent agency and NCRC workers from accessing birth parents’ phone numbers. Still, the Korean-language adoption documents kept by South Korean agencies often have more background information than translated files sent to Western adoptive parents. When they don’t get results, adoptees can request another search after a year.
When they fail to locate birth parents, NCRC may recommend that adoptees register their DNA with South Korean police or diplomatic offices, or help them publish their stories in South Korean media.
Frustrated with search failures and unreliable records, many Korean adoptees in recent years have attempted to reconnect with their birth families through DNA. Adoptees can register their DNA with a South Korean embassy or consulate in the country where they live. They can also register their DNA with a local police station if they travel to South Korea.
DNA testing isn’t common in South Korea, and the process usually depends on whether the birth family had also been trying to find the adoptee through DNA. Once collected at diplomatic or police offices, adoptees’ genetic information is cross-checked with South Korea’s national DNA database for missing persons. When there is a match, the adoption agency or NCRC takes steps to arrange a reunion.
Previously, Korean police and diplomatic offices had restricted DNA testing to adoptees they suspected were missing children. This frustrated many adoptees, especially those whose paperwork mentioned any form of parental consent, however vague, as they were denied tests. But the policy has changed, and even adoptees whose documents claim parental consent can undergo DNA testing if officials are unable to locate their birth parents.
Some adoptees have also found birth relatives through commercial DNA tests popular in the West. The nonprofit group 325 Kamra helps South Korean adoptees and birth families reunite through DNA, by allowing adoptees to upload their commercial test results to a database or providing test kits.
There are various Facebook groups — some open, others closed for adoptees only — where adoptees talk about their lives and interactions with adoption agencies.
One of the most active pages is run by Banet, a volunteer group named after the Korean word for newborn baby clothing. The group helps adoptees search for birth families, connects them with government and police, and provides translation during meetings with Korean relatives.
Some websites are tailored to adoptees sharing the same agency, such as Paperslip, where Kimmel is a key contributor. The website helps adoptees placed through Korea Social Service with birth family searches and adoption document requests.
The Seoul-based nonprofit Global Overseas Adoptees’ Link assists adoptees with birth family searches as well as language education, social events and obtaining visas for employment in South Korea. KoRoot, another Seoul-based civic group, also helps adoptees searching for their families and backgrounds and runs advocacy programs.
This story is part of an ongoing investigation led by The Associated Press in collaboration with FRONTLINE (PBS). The investigation includes an interactive and documentary, South Korea’s Adoption Reckoning.
Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org.
Rebecca Kimmel points to color photos of herself after being adopted, next to a photo of a girl used in her adoption file that she believes is a different baby, Saturday, July 1, 2023, at her art studio in Seattle. AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Rebecca Kimmel, front right, invited fellow adoptee Sarah Butcher to her art studio space to examine Butcher's adoption documents Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024, in Seattle. Kimmel now helps other adoptees spending hours advising them on how to get documents and information, and sharing news on adoption policies and birth search requests. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
