Donald Trump’s latest boast about his crowd size fell apart in a hurry as he was fact-checked in real-time while he was still speaking.
“We do a lot of these beautiful rallies, and it’s so great,” the former president said in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday. “We never have an empty seat, never have, look at it.”
Just one problem: While the sections closest to the stage were packed with MAGA faithful, there were plenty of empty seats toward the back of the venue ― and observers began sharing images of them on social media almost immediately.
An Associated Press photo also shows some of the empty seats:
NewsNation’s Libbey Dean shared footage of empty seats:
Columnist Dana Milbank also tweeted footage and images from the event showing the empty seats that Trump insisted he never has:
NBC’s Jake Traylor wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the empty seats were “notable and unusual” for a Trump rally.
However, it’s also becoming increasingly common as observers at Trump’s rallies have noted both empty seats and people departing early, often while he’s carrying on about sharks, windmills and Hannibal Lecter.
His Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, also brought it up at their debate last month.
“He talks about fictional characters, like Hannibal Lecter. He will talk about how windmills cause cancer,” she said. “What you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom.”
The comment triggered Trump, who erupted over it during the debate and has been bringing it up ever since.
During his event in Reading, Trump bragged that he had 100,000 people in attendance in Butler, Pennsylvania, over the weekend, a number that is more than quadruple the estimate of about 24,000 from CBS station KDKA.
The capacity of Santander Arena in Reading, where Trump spoke Wednesday, is between 7,200 and 8,800, depending on the configuration.
Trump’s critics on social media fired back at Trump’s boast of “never” having an empty seat:
OMG!!! Look at all of the empty seats at Trump’s rally in Reading, Pennsylvania! This is so humiliating for the Trump campaign. Nobody shows up to his rallies anymore! pic.twitter.com/APhMGSrjqg
— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) October 9, 2024
My kid’s had their high school graduations at this same arena as Trump’s rally tonight in Reading, Pennsylvania. There were not as many empty seats there for their graduating classes of 335 and 352 students. The arena can hold 8800 for concerts. https://t.co/dMxuXUJgY6
— Maudi63 (@maudi63) October 10, 2024
BREAKING: As Donald Trump talks about his sellout crowds, this video clearly shows empty seats. Americans are sick and tired of Donald Trump’s BS. Retweet to make sure every American knows Trump’s rallies have low energy and low attendance. pic.twitter.com/TTYA03N55Y
— Kamala’s Wins (@harris_wins) October 10, 2024
