After former President Donald Trump claimed "only he" can draw huge rally crowds, Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign mocked him after a video emerged showing that Trump had spoken at a rally in a half-full gymnasium.
Trump arrived an hour and a half late to his rally in Saginaw, Michigan, on Thursday night and boasted:
"Who else fills big places like this at three in the afternoon?”
But seen from various angles, it was clear that, despite his claims, he had only managed to fill a fraction of the event space.
The low turnout stands out for a candidate who has often criticized his political opponents for failing to attract the large crowds he has typically drawn to his campaign events.
However, this election has been characterized by a large degree of Trump fatigue and Harris's campaign went ahead and posted a side-by-side comparison showcasing "Trump's lies vs. reality."
You can see the video below.
It was abundantly clear the size of the crowd was nothing like what Trump claimed—and he was swiftly mocked for it.
Trump previously claimed Harris used artificial intelligence to make the crowd at a campaign rally near Detroit, Michigan, appear larger than it was, a statement that was swiftly debunked.
He was recently asked if he was bothered by the size of the crowds that attended Harris's campaign rallies in Philadelphia and Detroit and he responded by attacking the press and insisting that Harris had scarcely more than 2,000 attendees at those events:
"It's so dishonest, the press, and here's a great example. I had in Michigan recently 25,000 people. 25,000 people and we couldn't get them in. In Harrisburg, we had 25,000 people and 20,000 people couldn't get in. We had so many. Nobody ever mentions that."
"When she gets 1,500 people—and I saw it yesterday on ABC when they said the crowd was so big—I have 10 times, 20 times, 30 times the crowd size and they never say the crowd was big. That's why I'm always saying, 'Turn around,' and let me tell you, I'm so glad you asked that."
Trump later claimed the crowd that came to hear him speak ahead of the January 6 insurrection was the largest he had ever addressed, drawing a comparison to the crowd that gathered for the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
None of which is true, of course. The fact is, Kamala Harris regularly attracts more than 10,000 attendees to her rallies as she has inspired increased enthusiasm in the presidential race.
