Trump grossly exaggerated the crowd size at the New Jersey rally, but a bigger problem for Republicans is that much of the crowd turned away from the former president.
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USA Today’s Zach Anderson posted a video of the scene while Trump was still speaking:
Trump was still speaking at Wildwood, but much of the crowd had left. It was cold and he had been speaking for 90 minutes. When Trump took office, the entire area was packed with people. pic.twitter.com/r75Gwhwhf1
— Zach Anderson (@zacjanderson) May 11, 2024
More evidence of disappearing crowds:
Trump spoke again after bringing others on stage, and the rest of the speech was basically empty. It gets chilly as the sun sets and the beach breeze blows. pic.twitter.com/560NwK47cL
— Aliya Schneider (@aliyareports) May 11, 2024
Video of the crowd leaving while Trump was still speaking:
Trump was still speaking, but the crowd had thinned. People started walking back to the boardwalk. pic.twitter.com/gPSvZeDFgW
— Aliya Schneider (@aliyareports) May 11, 2024
Trump and his campaign held a rally next to the music festival, so it’s disputed how many people were pro-Trump and how many were on the beach who came over to see what was going on and then left. of.
The beach rally is another gimmick for Trump to create the illusion of popularity.
A bigger problem for Trump and his party is that the Trump Oldies Tour can no longer draw audiences. Long gone are the days when thousands of people were captivated by Trump and hung on to the end of his hours-long campaign speeches.
Trump is almost in his tenth season in national politics and has become stale, which is a larger problem that neither the former president nor his party is willing to admit.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a member of the White House press corps and a congressional reporter for PoliticusUSA. Jason holds a BA in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, particularly social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of Society of Professional Journalists and American Political Science Association