Former President Donald Trump’s boast about his crowd sizes at rallies was quickly debunked as images of empty seats at his event in Reading, Pennsylvania began circulating on social media. Despite claiming that there are never empty seats at his rallies, evidence proved otherwise. Observers pointed out that while sections close to the stage were full, there were plenty of empty seats toward the back of the venue.
Video footage and images from the event clearly showed the empty seats that Trump denied having at his rallies. This trend of empty seats and people leaving early has become increasingly common at Trump’s events, with supporters getting exhausted and bored by his ramblings about topics like sharks, windmills, and fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter. Even Vice President Kamala Harris brought up the fact that people leave Trump’s rallies early out of boredom.
During the debate in Reading, Trump boasted about having 100,000 people in attendance at a recent rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a number that was four times higher than the actual estimate from CBS station KDKA. The capacity of the Santander Arena in Reading, where Trump spoke, is between 7,200 and 8,800, making it difficult for him to justify his claims of always having full crowds.
Critics on social media were quick to point out the empty seats at Trump’s rally in Reading, with many mocking his claim of having a consistently full crowd. Images and videos shared online showed the stark difference between the sections close to the stage and the ones further back that were clearly empty. Many compared the attendance at Trump’s rally to high school graduations held at the same venue, noting that even those events had more attendees.
The backlash against Trump’s inaccurate claims about the size of his rally crowds continues to grow as more evidence of empty seats and early exits from supporters is documented. Despite his insistence that he always has full crowds at his events, the reality of the situation is becoming increasingly clear to observers both at the events and online. Trump’s tendency to exaggerate numbers and boast about his popularity seems to be backfiring as more and more people are catching on to the discrepancies in his claims.
