Trump fails to fulfil 9,000-seat arena as viral video shows empty seats at a rally
The former president Donald Trump, now the most popular Republican presidential candidate, is a real crowd-pleaser with a charming personality that captivates literally everyone. His rallies around the country always draw a lot of attention, not only from Republicans but also from the general public.
But even Trump sometimes fails to deliver. At least that’s what many online users think after a recent viral video showing empty seats during a speech at one of his rallies.
In the newly emerged video that has swiftly become viral, the camera exposes an unanticipated sight at the recent rally of former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. At the Erie Insurance Arena, where the rally was convened, dozens of vacant seats were discernible, particularly towards the back of the venue. (the video can be seen in the end of the article)
The nine-second video, uploaded by NBC national correspondent Gabe Gutierrez, offers a broader perspective of the Erie-based gathering. It pans across the arena, disclosing the absence of spectators in certain sections as Trump addressed a fervently enthusiastic crowd. The footage was succinctly captioned by Gutierrez as: “Wider view of the Trump rally in Erie.”
These revelations surfaced amid an increasingly fraught climate for the former Commander-in-Chief, as he grapples with expanding legal pressures. Last Thursday, the Department of Justice filed court documents, declaring that Trump would be confronted with supplementary charges over the investigation into classified documents found at his Florida property. The ex-president’s response, delineating his belief that he was “being indicted for you [the crowd],” was met with rapturous applause and unanimous approval from the majority of attendees.
The Erie Insurance Arena, known for hosting the Ontario Hockey League team, the Erie Otters, as well as a plethora of concerts and community events, boasts a seating capacity in excess of 9,000. As of this report, the official headcount for the rally remains undisclosed.
Since being shared on July 29, the video has been viewed more than 1.4 million times on Twitter and had received nearly 5,000 likes at the time of writing.
Furthermore, the Department of Justice has reiterated that Trump is to face additional federal charges relating to the classified documents found at his Florida Mar-a-Lago residence. The former president, already entangled in 37 charges, including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, has issued a plea of not guilty.
Yet, the indictments lodged against Trump appear to have scarcely impeded his standing amongst his unwavering supporters. Praise was effusive at the rally, where attendees lauded his purported “Christian values” and bestowed upon him monarchical titles. One particularly ardent supporter, wearing a shirt that boldly declared “The Great MAGA King,” extolled Trump as a sovereign, placing “King Trump” in deference only to “King Jesus.”
Trump comfortably leads the GOP nomination race with a total larger than all other challengers combined.
According to the national polling average collected by poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight, as of July 27, Trump leads with 52.4 percent of the vote and his closest challenger Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stands at 15.5 percent.
Wider view of the Trump rally in Erie pic.twitter.com/Otu2cGLeLP
— Gabe Gutierrez (@gabegutierrez) July 29, 2023
