A Republican rally in Texas has ended with a gross mishap after an elephant urinated on the floor in front of hundreds of attendees.
The elephant, a mascot for the republican party, was brought out for the crowd shortly after Texas Governor Greg Abbott spoke at the party convention in Houston on Friday, local time.
Adorned with a white sheet with Abbott’s logo “Unity Drives Victory”, the animal was paraded through the convention before stopping in the centre aisle.
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It then relieved itself just metres away from reporters covering the rally. A sign warning attendees of the wet floor was placed in the aisle soon after.
The convention comes as Abbott ramps up support to beat Democrat Gina Hinojosa in a November election for his fourth term as the state’s Governor.
Ironically, he said Texas will be the “number one” state for education US if he were to win the election.
“We need another number one on the agenda,” he said to a raucous applause, minutes before the elephant relieved itself on the floor.
Footage of the elephant drew condemnation from Republican opponents online, with some asking why it is “being paraded inside a loud stadium like this”.
“This poor elephant does not want to be there,” one wrote in a post to X.
“Elephants are the most wonderful animals,” another said.
“It makes me ill that such a beautiful, smart, and delightful animal is their party’s symbol.”
