Donald Trump’s hush money trial is coming to a close at long last, with closing arguments expected on Tuesday, May 28, but the former president has already put it behind him, holding campaign rallies when he should probably be trying on prison overalls instead.
Trump held a massive campaign rally in the Bronx on Thursday, May 23 and he actually managed to get through the whole thing without having a senile moment or crapping his pants. This was his first rally in New York City since 2016 and that part of the city is known for being a “deep-blue” area ⏤ not exactly somewhere that a Republican can expect a warm welcome. The former president took to the stage in Crotona Park to a decent-sized crowd at around 6:30pm and clearly hoped to win over some of the voters who would typically vote for the Democrats.
According to an article from CBS News, his main talking points included crime, immigration, and the economy. National polls have shown that Trump is making gains amongst Black and Latino voters and his speech was geared toward those communities on Thursday, with Trump saying, “We’re going to bring safety back to our streets. We’re going to bring success back to our schools. […] We’re going to reduce taxes. We’re going to bring businesses and big taxpayers back to New York.”
How many people attended the Trump rally?
So let’s get down to brass tacks and crunch some numbers. To be fair, considering the political leaning of the area Trump was in, the turnout wasn’t bad if you’re someone who blindly believes whatever Trump tells you. According to Newsweek, a spokesperson for Trump claimed that around 25,000 people showed up despite the rally only having a permit for 3,500.
That sure is a lot of people, but as Trump himself would say, “that is fake news!” While thousands of people did show up to hear him speak in Crotona Park, most estimates don’t place them anywhere near the figure being touted by Trump’s campaign. The New York Post puts it at somewhere around 8,000 to 10,000. However, attorney Ron Filipkowski claims it was even lower in a post on X, saying, “In a city of over 8 million people Trump drew 4,000 tops. That’s with a lot of people from out of state.” I’m not a mathematician, but that’s quite a sizable difference compared to 25,000.
Also, there’s this:
And this:
Let’s not forget the sheep:
Sadly, there was also this:
Now that we’re done collectively vomiting, an article from Fox News claims that Trump is gaining support in the Bronx, with polls indicating that support for the 77-year-old toddler growing from 10% in 2016 to 16% in 2020. Despite this growing support, the number of people who actually showed up to his rally in the area is still far from impressive no matter how you look at it. Even if sheep were present. (No, there weren’t actual human sheep present, ya goof.)