Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to a crowd at the Barton Coliseum, the Arkansas State Fairgrounds on Wednesday Feb. 3., 2016.
Donald Trump held a rally at the Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, Arkansas Wednesday night that allegedly drew a record-breaking crowd. The previous record was held by ZZ Top, who drew 11,451 people to the Barton Coliseum in 1974. On Twitter, Trump thanked “everyone in Little Rock” and touted a “record crowd of 12K.”
THANK YOU to everyone in Little Rock, Arkansas tonight! A record crowd of 12K. #Trump2016https://t.co/MjtIq2ii0Q pic.twitter.com/I9WkPN3pWm
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2016
Ralph Shoptaw, the general manager of the state fair, announced the allegedly record-breaking crowd count, which is now being disputed by some media reports. The Daily Mail, for instance, put up a series of photos such as the one below, labeled with the caption “not exactly full.” Other outlets, including the Detroit News, jumped on the story and ran with it.
To be sure, that is not a full house depicted in that photo. The empty livestock arena has a published capacity of 10,195, but we don’t need a headcount to see that crowd is not anywhere close to threatening full capacity. So, what’s the deal? Could it be that The Donald completely exaggerated (no, not him)?
Not exactly. Here’s a video of the Trump rally in Little Rock Wednesday night, brought to you by the folks at Right Side News. The place is packed. The Daily Mail, which is bordering on tabloid journalistic standards, published photos of the event as people began to shuffle in the door. Trump was also a full two hours late, according to people who attended the rally, and attendees were loosely walking around the arena until they got word he was in the house.
[brid video=”26990″ player=”2077″ title=”FULL Event Donald Trump MASSIVE Rally in Little Rock AR (2316)”]
That’s an enormous crowd. Because there was no official count (we asked), there is no way to be sure whether the crowd came close to hitting the 12,000 mark or slightly under, which could still break the record. If The Donald is going to claim HUGE “record-breaking” crowds, then it would probably be wise to insist on an official headcount.
However, for the Daily Mail to not only mislead but also plaster a man’s picture on the Internet to call his integrity into question (Mr. Shoptaw)–all with the intent to hurt a presidential candidate–is pretty disgusting.
Regardless, what can’t be disputed is that Trump draws the largest crowds out of any candidate, Republican or Democrat. In New Hampshire on Wednesday, the crowd that showed up to hear Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was under 400 strong and, former Gov. Jeb Bush, pleaded with a crowd of roughly 50 to “please clap.”
Carol / February 4, 2016
Look for this to continue all the way up to the debate. The media is having a field day enjoying the stolen Iowa win that Ted Cruz got. This is their way of trying to bring down Donald Trump. The Iowa caucus was a joke and even I as a Georgia voter could see that it was full of ways to cheat. Ted Cruz is the person who wronged Dr. Carson and Donald Trump, but who are the media sticking up for? They are sticking up for Ted Cruz and his petty staff who teaches our children to lie and cheat for what they want and in the process ripping away any of the integrity left for the political establishment . In the very least the RNC should have called out the Cruz organization. With the way this is going we are going to end up with a President far worse than Richard Nixon and his Watergate crap. Both Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz are cut from the same cloth and the American people will reap what the media sows again.
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