Halloween and Election Day always fall within about a week of each other, and some years, it's hard to tell which is scarier. For many people, however, October 31 is a day to turn off the news and have some fun. It's a day to dress up in costumes, take the kids trick-or-treating, go out to parties, or stay in and watch your favorite spooky movies.
Unless you're attorney Dan Balsam of Alameda, Calif.
Balsam apparently hates Trump and his supporters so much that he turned his yard into a Halloween display that he calls "The Project 2025 Halloween Carn-evil," aka a "MAGA carnival," which includes games and booths with such inspirational titles as "Knock Down a Migrant" and "Fund a Trip for a Supreme Court Justice."
There's even a place to get french fries, mocking Trump's infamous recent visit to a McDonalds, and a set of what appears to be some sort of candles with the former president's face on them, perhaps mocking the Catholic prayer candles that feature the faces of saints. And don't forget the "10 MAGA Commandments" that refer to Trump supporters as cult members, call Trump racist, and even mock the death of the late Ivana Trump.
According to KTVU Fox 2 in San Francisco, Balsam's son, Ryan, who is in 5th grade, helped his father create the anti-Trump display. "Even though I'm 11, I still think of politics. I get to learn about stuff that's going on in the real world," he told the news outlet.
Little Ryan might want to get outside of his Alameda bubble and actually meet some Trump supporters if he wants to know what's going on in the "real world," but I digress.
Alameda, as you might imagine, is a liberal city that sits just southwest of Oakland and across the bay from San Francisco in Alameda County. In 2020, Biden won 79.83% of the county's vote, with Trump receiving only 17.62%.
Balsam's neighbors are also proof of that. He claims that the locals love his Halloween display so much that they make special trips just to see it and have shown him plenty of support with only a few exceptions.
Related: Scary High Prices Hit Halloween Sweets, Costumes
The attorney told KTVU, "There's some people who try to avoid politics. If they're walking by, they'll get a little flavor of what's going on." Because there is nothing better than having a condescending neighbor who feels like he knows what's best for you and throwing it in your face.
Speaking of being condescending, Balsam also says that this is the sort of carnival he imagines "MAGA types" would actually enjoy, making it pretty clear that he hasn't actually met many Trump supporters either.
This isn't the first time Balsam has gone political with his annual Halloween decor. In 2018, for example, his display featured a screaming scarecrow named Ted Cruz, a corpse representing Mike Pence, and a devil wearing a Donald Trump nametag.
Can you imagine the uproar if a prominent conservative attorney created a similar display? A cackling Kamala dressed like a witch and ripping infants from their mother's wombs? Someone dressed as Tim Walz, handing out tampons and pro-Communist propaganda instead of candy? The corpse of Joe Biden jumping out of a grave and calling passers-by "garbage"? Well, the last one might be a little too realistic, but you get the idea.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member