Donald Trump has a very sensitive ego when it comes to most things, but especially when it comes to crowd size. Just like no one will ever forget former White House press secretary Sean Spicer‘s “the largest crowd ever to witness an inauguration…period!” moment, no one will forget Trump bragging that a million people would show up to his first campaign rally in months and then the crowd filled less than a third of the 19,000 person capacity arena.
Trump is "furious" about the "underwhelming" crowd at his rally in Tulsa.
"This was a major failure," one outside adviser said. https://t.co/xzZCMDEVjT
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 21, 2020
Trump has used the size of the crowds who once gathered at his 2016 presidential campaign rallies to chant “lock her up!” and “build the wall!” These days, Hillary Clinton is not in prison and only some border fencing has been replaced, so it seems that crowd may have lost its enthusiasm.
Trump was not pleased with the turnout.
According to The New York Times:
‘The president, who had been warned aboard Air Force One that the crowds at the arena were smaller than expected, was stunned, and he yelled at aides backstage while looking at the endless rows of empty blue seats in the upper bowl of the stadium, according to four people familiar with what took place. Brad Parscale, the campaign manager who had put the event together, was not present.’
"Trump was furious about the unused outdoor stage and the comparatively thin crowd in the stadium, according to two people familiar with his reaction. News broadcasts carried video of the partially empty stadium."https://t.co/hf7u5r98sT https://t.co/mSNRQAOr5z
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) June 21, 2020
After cancelling a speech planned for the overflow crowd because there was none, Vice President Mike Pence gave a speech at the rally, which was supposed to be followed immediately by Trump’s speech. His appearance was reportedly delayed due to his angry outburst.
‘Mr. Trump eventually entered the arena for a meandering performance in which he excoriated the “fake news” for reporting on health concerns before his event, used racist language to describe the coronavirus as the “Kung Flu” and spent more than 15 minutes explaining away an unflattering video clip of him gingerly descending a ramp after his commencement speech at West Point.’
When 6 of Trump's campaign rally organizers tested positive for COVID-19 he asked "why that information was exposed and expressed annoyance" that it was. He didn't care about his workers or his supporters health or safety. Just his news coverage.https://t.co/xP0VF2rmnn
— John Oberlin (@OMGno2trump) June 21, 2020
Afterward, staffers report that Trump’s energy seemed to have been drained out of him and, instead of anger, he appeared dejected. The momentum he once had is clearly fading, and another presidential election is just four months away. Perhaps Trump is figuring out that the polls reporting Biden as ahead by as much as 14 points aren’t “fake news” after all.
‘When he landed back at the White House and walked off Marine One, his tie hung untied around his neck. He waved to reporters, with a defeated expression on his face, holding a crumpled red campaign hat in one hand.’
Donald Trump is reportedly furious over the low turnout at his much-hyped rally in Tulsa on Saturday while his campaign blasted claims that teens on TikTok and K-pop fans trolled the president by ordering tickets to the event without ever intending to actually be there. pic.twitter.com/TR8j9EZ9Nj
— PA-Solutions Online. (@cuceejr) June 22, 2020
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
