The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus announced Saturday it would be shutting down its “greatest show on Earth” later on this year after 146 years of operation.
This will come as no great surprise to President-elect Trump, who speculated the company was using “animal rights stuff” to reduce costs and said he wasn’t going to the circus anymore.
Kenneth Feld, CEO and chairman of the producer of the circus, announced tickets sales have been declining and a decision to take elephants off the road caused ticket sales to drop even more.
Two years ago, Trump said a circus without elephants wasn’t one he would be attending.
Ringling Brothers is phasing out their elephants. I,for one, will never go again. They probably used the animal rights stuff to reduce costs
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2015
“Ringling Brothers is phasing out their elephants. I, for one, will never go again. They probably used the animal rights stuff to reduce costs,” Trump tweeted in March 2015.
.@RinglingBros is retiring their elephants– the circus will never be the same.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2016
He added in January 2016, “@RinglingBros is retiring their elephants — the circus will never be the same.”
The circus is continuing its tour through May, when it will hold its last performance.
