What Reporters Are Seeing and Saying About Trump's Final Rallies

Win or lose on Election Day, it’s unlikely the 78-year old Donald Trump will ever hold another presidential campaign rally again, and yet some of his supporters over the past week have stopped showing up for his final tour, leading reporters on several networks to mention there are “a lot of empty seats.”

Who will win the presidential election is anyone’s guess, but for the Republican nominee coming to the end of his third campaign, some expected more people would be out to get one last rush of the MAGA experience.

“Very low energy,” is how Mother Jones’ D.C. bureau chief David Corn described Trump’s rally Monday in Reading, Pennsylvania—a must-win state both candidates have been focusing on.

At the Trump rally in Reading, Pennsylvania, not even the floor is full. Campaign staff is trying to herd attendees into a couple of sections to make the place look packed. Very low energy. pic.twitter.com/TqvLtIRgiP

— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) November 4, 2024

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NBC News’ Vaughn Hillyard, who says he’s been covering Trump since 2015, notes Trump’s first rally on the last day before Election Day is just 70 percent full—and Trump was 40 minutes late.

At his first of final four rally spots, this Raleigh venue is about 70% full. Trump was originally set to take the stage 40 minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/XtEgHJydqb

— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) November 4, 2024

And he talked about the “far smaller crowds” they’ve been seeing, including this one in North Carolina.

“I wanna show you guys real fast what this crowd looks like,” Hillyard told MSNBC viewers. “We’re looking at about a capacity, about 70% full here, and for nine years … we have talked about the enthusiasm in the masses that have come out for Trump’s rallies, time and again, even at his politically lowest points, including in 2022.”

“I can’t tell you exactly why, but in this final week we have seen far smaller crowds. We were in Greensboro, North Carolina, where just a few thousand people. Macon, Georgia, just a few thousand people yesterday. What does that mean ultimately, you can only discern so much from what crowd sizes look like, but interestingly, for the first time since I’ve been covering Donald Trump since 2015, there’s been us in the press that have been looking around questioning why the crowd sizes have been less than what we are accustomed to.”

Biden White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt, from his personal account on X responded: “The act got old.”

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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein posted video from Trump’s Sunday rally in Macon, Georgia.

Trump closes his final campaign rally in Georgia tonight in Macon #gapol pic.twitter.com/Zfga5JicXA

— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) November 4, 2024

Revealing just how tired Trump’s supporters have become, the comedy team of The Good Liars, who frequently go to Trump rallies and interview his supporters, on Monday caught several people holding Trump signs but leaving his rally early.

Lots of people were leaving the Trump rally early today. pic.twitter.com/YstB4DNPPc

— The Good Liars (@TheGoodLiars) November 4, 2024

The Lincoln Project posted a video, originally posted by Hillyard, remarking, “This is how the MAGA movement is dying, like a bad club when the lights come on.”

This is how the MAGA movement is dying, like a bad club when the lights come on. Empty seats and stragglers in trash bag dresses and maxi pads on their ears dancing to the few songs that Trump could get licensing to play. pic.twitter.com/heJqJUR1bH

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) November 4, 2024

Another Trump rally today with “a lot of empty seats.”

a lot of empty seats visible early during Trump’s speech in reading pic.twitter.com/iaOI0w1tRd

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 4, 2024

A CNN rep-orter for that same rally agreed: “a lot of empty seats.”

👀 CNN on yet another Trump rally with low turnout: There are a lot of empty seats left in the arena. Trump has built his brand on turning out large rallies, but today in North Carolina AND Pennsylvania they have been noticeably empty. pic.twitter.com/AetEhpIlfA

— Devon Hesano (@DevonHesano) November 4, 2024

Democratic former U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill noted that a Trump rally on Saturday also had “a lot of empty seats.”