Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trump boasts to crowd no one leaves his rallies early – just as man gets up and walks out

Trump has been fixated on crowd sizes throughout his election campaign

Rhian Lubin
Thursday 31 October 2024 10:51
Comments
Trump tells the crowd that ‘no one leaves his rallies early’ - but then someone did

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Donald Trump’s latest boast about the crowds at his campaign events backfired when he claimed that “no one” leaves his rallies early – just as a supporter got up and exited the stands directly behind him.

The unfortunate timing occurred while Trump was speaking at a campaign event in Rocky Mount, in the swing state of North Carolina on Wednesday.

“Everybody watches our rallies, everybody loves our rallies, we never have an empty seat,” Trump told the crowd, before he did an impersonation of opponent Kamala Harris.

“They try and demean us like that horrible, horrible person that I debated when she said ‘and people leave early.’ Nobody leaves early.”

At that very moment, a rallygoer donning a black t-shirt featuring the Republican’s mugshot got up out of his seat and left.

“If I saw them leaving early, you know what I would say?” Trump continued, appearing not to notice what was happening behind him.

“‘Ladies and gentlemen thank you very much,’ and I’d leave,” he said, adding: “But I’ve never had to do that. We have the greatest rallies in the world, there’s never an empty seat, and nobody leaves early.”

Trump latest’s boast about crowd sizes and attendance at his rallies backfired on Wednesday as the supporter in the black t-shirt behind him got up to leave
Trump latest’s boast about crowd sizes and attendance at his rallies backfired on Wednesday as the supporter in the black t-shirt behind him got up to leave (Fox News/@AccountableGOP/X)

Trump has been fixated on crowd sizes throughout this election cycle, with Harris’s comment during the September 10 debate appearing to have gotten under his skin.

On Tuesday night, more than 75,000 people flocked to hear Harris’s closing argument to voters at the Ellipse in Washington DC, according to her campaign.

If the early estimate is correct, this means Harris’s event drew about 22,000 more people than Trump’s rally on the same spot on January 6 2021 – where he urged around 53,000 supporters to “fight like hell” in the moments before the Capitol riot.

Trump, who routinely exaggerates his crowd size, once wildly claimed the Jan 6 rally brought in as many attendees as Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech near the Lincoln Memorial on August 28 1968.

Moments later the supporter made his way out of the stands
Moments later the supporter made his way out of the stands (Fox News/@AccountableGOP/X)

Last week, Trump also claimed 29,000 supporters flocked to see him work the fryer at McDonald’s for a campaign stunt on October 20, but locals were quick to point out his numbers appeared to be inflated.

“We had 29,000 people surrounding it. We weren’t sure if we were able to get out,” Trump boasted.

While large crowds of people did line the surrounding streets of the McDonald’s in Feasterville-Trevose, Bucks County, the branch Trump visited is located within the Lower Southampton Township, which had a population of 20,427 in 2023, according to the US Census Bureau.

Bucks County journalist Tom Sofield reported for local news outlet LevittownNow.com that the crowds were closer to “several thousand,” adding that Trump had also previously claimed 25,000 people turned out to see him.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in