1 month ago
Last Updated: August 09, 2024, 23:50 IST
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
Donald Trump gestures during a campaign rally held with Republican vice presidential nominee Senator JD Vance, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., August 3, 2024. (Reuters)
Trump criticized Vice President Harris's rally sizes, claiming he drew larger crowds. Trump also compared his January 6 crowd to MLK’s historic speech
Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump expressed frustration during a press conference on Thursday when asked about Vice President Kamala Harris’s crowd sizes at recent rallies.
“Oh, give me a break,” the former US President responded, highlighting his own rally in New Jersey, where he claimed to have drawn 107,000 attendees. “What did she have yesterday, 2,000 people?” he continued, dismissing Harris’s reported attendance figures.
Harris’s campaign stated that 14,000 people attended her rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday and 15,000 in Detroit on Wednesday, The Hill reported. In response, Trump asserted that if he had only attracted 2,000 people, the media would declare his campaign finished.
He emphasised, “We have the enthusiasm,” referring to the Republican Party and his own candidacy, as he criticised crime and called for a respected nation. In the same press conference, Trump compared the crowd at his January 6, 2021, speech to that of Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, claiming both drew similar numbers.
“If you look at Martin Luther King, when he did his speech… we had more,” he stated, despite evidence suggesting otherwise. Recent polling indicates a tight race between Trump and Harris, with some surveys showing Trump leading by a narrow margin of 0.2 points. However, a new Ipsos survey highlights a statistical dead heat among voters in key swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Harris has gained momentum following President Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, and she recently announced her vice presidential pick, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Trump acknowledged Harris’s current popularity but predicted her “honeymoon period” would soon end as the campaign progresses.
(With agency inputs)
