US: Trump has repeatedly boasted about the crowds attending his rallies, but videos show hundreds of empty seats
US: Donald Trump, the former president, has often flaunted the turnout his events draw.
“We do a lot of these beautiful rallies, and it’s so great,” Trump said Wednesday in Reading, Pennsylvania. “We never have a vacant seat; never have. Take a look at it.
However, reporters who released footage from inside the Santander Arena real-time fact-checked the Republican nominee’s allegation, revealing what seemed to be hundreds of vacant seats in the stadium throughout the former president’s address. Newsweek emailed the Trump campaign for comments.
Lot of empty seats at Trump rally in Reading, Pa. Arena has 7,200 seats. pic.twitter.com/4KkaoLnZ9E
— Dana Milbank (@Milbank) October 9, 2024
Columnist for The Washington Post Dana Milbank posted images and videos on X, previously Twitter, showing mainly vacant portions of chairs towards the rear of the auditorium.
“Lot of empty seats at Trump rally in Reading, Pa. Arena has 7,200 seats,” Milbank said in one post.
Based on its website, the arena can hold up to 7,200 people for hockey events and up to 8,800 for concerts.
— Dana Milbank (@Milbank) October 9, 2024
Campaign reporter Libbey Dean of NewsNation also uploaded a video on X stating, “there were a lot of open seats in the back.”
“Though most of the arena is full here, a few sections in the back are not (and are not just sectioned off for press either),” NBC News correspondent Jake Traylor said in sharing a video of the vacant seats.
📍Trump’s rally in Reading, PA. A lot of open seats in the back. The arena capacity is over 7,000. pic.twitter.com/JXRKNpGsZs
— Libbey Dean (@LibbeyDean_) October 10, 2024
For a Trump event, Traylor said it was “notable and unusual”.
But there have also been rumors of early departures as well as of empty seats at Trump’s rallies.
During a debate last month, Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris pushed Trump by stating that anybody who attends a Trump rally would observe early departure.
📍Reading, PA — Though most of the arena is full here, a few sections in the back are not (and are not just sectioned off for press either). Notable and unusual for a Trump rally. pic.twitter.com/CKzXHSFRPi
— Jake Traylor (@jake__traylor) October 9, 2024
“You will see he discusses fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter during the course of his rallies,” she said. “He will also discuss windmills causing cancer and what you will also notice is people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom.”
“People don’t leave my rallies,” Trump said. Our rallies are the largest and most amazing in political history.
Trump: We do these rallies, we never have an empty seat
(The room he is speaking to is full of empty seats) pic.twitter.com/w6DDkNvC07
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) October 10, 2024
Ever then, Trump has been flaunting the attendance at his events. He declared at Wednesday’s Reading rally that 100,000 people had attended his Saturday gathering in Butler, Pennsylvania. But quoting the Secret Service, local television station KDKA said that around 24,000 individuals were there.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump rallied at Scranton’s Riverfront Sports Complex. Early outside the facility, which seats 3,400, Trump fans started lined up, said local news source PAHomepage; not everyone got it inside.
Harris’s team uploaded images of Trump’s statement in Reading about never having an empty seat at his rallies on Wednesday night combined with pictures of vacant arena seats.
“Trump: We do these rallies; we never have an empty seat,” the Kamala Headquarters account said. “(The room he is speaking to is full of empty seats).” The vice president’s team similarly parodied Trump for having empty seats at a Michigan last week speech.
Writing “So many empty seats at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania tonight,” the Republicans Against Trump account also parodied the audience figure on X. SAD!
OMG!! Look at all the vacant chairs at Trump’s event in Reading, Pennsylvania!” Content producer and Democrat Harry Sisson wrote on X. “This humiliates the Trump campaign so severely. Nobody comes up for his rallies anymore!”
Democratic fundraiser Jon Cooper said, “Wow—there were a LOT of vacant seats at the opening of Trump’s speech today in Reading, Pennsylvania. With 7,200 chairs in the arena, over half of them seem to have been vacant. sad!!!”
