As President Trump was bragging about the supposed record-breaking attendance at a rally celebrating his first 100-days as president, journalists put a damper on the claims and showed that the rally’s attendance was a bit oversold.
According to Jonathan Tamari of the Philly Enquirer, Trump claimed that there were “a lot of people standing outside” the rally in Pennsylvania this Saturday night. But a photo posted to Twitter by Tamari shows rows of empty seats. Trump also reportedly claimed that the rally “broke an all-time record.”
Trump says "we have a lot of ppl standing outside" and he "broke the all time record" in this arena. There are rows of empty seats here pic.twitter.com/ixbErKjrQu
— Jonathan Tamari (@JonathanTamari) April 30, 2017
Tamari shared another photo, pointing out that there were indeed a lot of people at the rally, but it was “not at all at capacity.”
Here's another part of the arena where Trump says people have been left standing outside. Lots of ppl here, but not at all capacity pic.twitter.com/M6gtVF0PhN
— Jonathan Tamari (@JonathanTamari) April 30, 2017
The rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was held at the same time as the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, of which Trump declined to attend, making him the first president to skip the event in 36 years.
From The Hill:
[Trump] mocked media members attending the dinner as “trapped” at what he called a “very, very boring” event.
“They would love to be with us right here tonight,” Trump said, adding his rally drew a “much larger crowd, and better people, too.”
Trump’s lies about crowd size are nothing new, but the timing of this latest rally hints at a slightly tragic nature. Skipping an event where he was surely to be mocked, Trump’s choice to instead host a rally in his own honor seems to show a man who just wants to be loved.
Featured image via Twitter
