U.S. President Donald Trump is once again defending crowd sizes Wednesday after the New York Times estimated the turn out for a rally in Nashville, Tenn., was “about 1,000” people.
Trump was in Nashville to raise campaign cash for Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who’s running for a Senate seat, and to headline a rally to support his agenda.
READ MORE: Here’s why the picture of Donald Trump’s inauguration did not undersell crowd size
The president lashed out at the “failing and corrupt” New York Times for its reporting of crowd size estimates following the rally.
“The Failing and Corrupt @nytimes estimated the crowd last night at “1000 people,” when in fact it was many times that number – and the arena was rockin’,” Trump tweeted. “This is the way they demean and disparage. They are very dishonest people who don’t ‘get’ me, and never did!”
In the fourth paragraph of nearly a 1,100 word article, the newspaper reported that Trump “worked his audience of about 1,000 into a frenzy.” The article also describe the event as a “raucous rally.”
Local News Channel 5 reported Trump’s rally drew “thousands” to the arena, but did not specify an exact crowd size. The Tennessean reported Trump was “speaking to a crowd of thousands at Municipal Auditorium, which also had hundreds of empty seats.”
However, video footage and photos taken during the rally suggest more than “about 1,000” attended the event. Take a look.
According to Municipal Auditorium’s website, the arena has a total seating capacity of 9,654. On Wednesday, Bob Skoney, general manager of the auditorium, told the Tennessean that Tuesday’s event capacity was 7,500 to 8,000. Nashville Fire Department said “our Fire Marshal’s office counted around 5,500 people who attended the rally last night.”
READ MORE: Inflated inauguration numbers called ‘alternative facts’ by top Trump advisor, Kellyanne Conway
Trump has disputed reporting of crowd sizes in the past, including the turnout of his inauguration.
- Alberta to overhaul municipal rules to include sweeping new powers, municipal political parties
- Grocery code: How Ottawa has tried to get Loblaw, Walmart on board
- Military judges don’t have divided loyalties, Canada’s top court rules
- Canada, U.S., U.K. lay additional sanctions on Iran over attack on Israel
Comments