[NOTE: Anybody remember that #45 began his administration by lying about the size of his sparse inaugural crowd, and doctoring the photographs? Here we go again. In the past two weeks I received half a dozen texts and email pleas to show up at his monster 2024 campaign rally in tiny Pickens, South Carolina on July 1. It was to be a monumental show of strength.
It should have been; the location is deep in some of the Southeast’s reddest regions, where homeboy Senator Lindsay “Loyal Lapdog” Graham was loudly booed, as nowhere near red enough for the true believers. Pickens is not far from the two northernmost Georgia House districts, home to Reps Marjorie “Impeach Bush & Hunter’s Laptop Too” Taylor Greene, and Andy January-6-at-the-Capitol-was-just-a- “normal-tourist-visit” Clyde. So thanks to Newsweek for a deep-dive expert checking analysis of the breathless claims by local officials that the crowd was 50,000 –no, wait, 60K — oh, but really, 75 thousand. At least. The best expert estimates point to a sizeable crowd, but no monster. They also point to a year of more non-credible crowd numbers. 2024 will be a tough election anyway.]
NEWSWEEK — Fact Check
Donald Trump’s holiday weekend rally in Pickens, South Carolina, was heralded to have attracted tens of thousands of attendees, a seeming affirmation of his support for his 2024 White House campaign.
The former president used the occasion to tell supporters “all bets were off” in his battle against the Department of Justice, pledging to launch investigations against federal prosecutors as well as his main political opponent, Joe Biden.
During the course of the day, locals and fans estimated that 50,000 people had arrived to see Trump make campaign pitches, although not everyone was convinced the number was accurate. Continue reading Nerding Out: Did Trump’s July 1 Rally Actually Draw 50-75K People?? →
My favorite political campaign strategist & tactician is Sarah Longwell, who runs The Bulwark, and the Republican Accountability Project. She’s a former Republican campaign operative turned resolute & relentless Nevermore Tr*mper. More about Longwell here.
