Last night, Donald Trump actually followed through with his promise to hold a rally for Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who has been making a joke of himself on the campaign trail. That was surprising to many, given the volatile history between the two men, but unsurprising to others, given Trump’s willingness to do and say anything necessary to rile up his base and Cruz’ ability to debase himself before large crowds.
But was the crowd really that large?
That was the other half of the promise — that he would secure the biggest venue in Texas for the event — that Trump failed to make good on. The arena that Team Trump eventually came up with was the Houston Toyota Center, where the NBA’s Rockets play home games, which actually seats only 19,000 people at maximum capacity.
Still, that’s sizable, right? And as his campaign manager Brad Parscale and spokeswoman Katrina Pierson (who inexplicably has not been fired, despite having accidentally admitted in a secretly-recorded conversation with Omarosa Manigault-Newman that the President used the n-word) said during the intro to the event on Monday night, Team Trump moved a hundred thousand tickets to this rally, so there must have been at least close to that number trying to get in after the arena was at capacity.
That’s incredible. It’s also false. In fact, the arena never filled to capacity, and people left before it was even over. How do we know? Because there’s footage of not just empty seats, but people actually leaving roughly an hour into the event, while the President was actually speaking:
63 minutes into @realDonaldTrump speech the Toyota Center is starting to empty out. Lots of unfilled seats. #TrumpRally pic.twitter.com/FozcNFRvUE
— Todd J. Gillman (@toddgillman) October 23, 2018
That tweet is from the Bureau Chief of the Dallas Morning News, the biggest newspaper in Texas. Gillman actually followed it up with another after having been questioned by some:
Folks are definitely leaving before it’s over. #trumprally pic.twitter.com/d6e9leUhmC
— Todd J. Gillman (@toddgillman) October 23, 2018
That’s during a bit in his speech where he’s discussing the recently (and disastrously) passed “Right To Try” bill that allows medical experimentation on the terminally ill, just a few minutes after the video in the first tweet. The President went on to speak nearly another 15 minutes after the footage from the Morning News.
But that’s inside, right? What about all the folks outside clamoring to get in?
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo himself confirmed there were actually only about 3,000 people outside:
Rally going smoothly. 18 – 19 thousand inside @ToyotaCenter for rally. @houstonpolice airship providing overwatch, approximate about 3,000 folks outside enjoying rally. Thank you all participants & protestors for your peaceful & orderly participation. #RelationalPolicing pic.twitter.com/LDGnetxdwZ
— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) October 22, 2018
And finally, since the new rallying cry on the right seems to center on the laughable notion that “angry mobs” on the left are attacking them, let’s check back in with Chief Acevedo one more time:
Rally is over @POTUS is away and rally participants and protestors are leaving quickly, safely and orderly fashion. Proud of our @houstonpolice family and the community we serve.
— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) October 23, 2018
The @POTUS visit to Houston is a wrap. Everyone at Toyota Center, inside and out, is heading home. Thanks to everyone for making it a safe, uneventful event with no arrests. #hounews pic.twitter.com/tE1CGrxcxY
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) October 23, 2018
A lot to be proud of here in #Houston. 20,000+ people with opposing viewpoints gathered at the Toyota Center last night, and it remained peaceful. No arrests, and @realDonaldTrump and everyone went home safe. Thank you for your hard work, @houstonpolice & @ArtAcevedo! #HTownRush pic.twitter.com/a1UxNVJU7m
— Doug Delony (@DougDelonyKHOU) October 23, 2018
There are literally no lies that Trump and his fans can tell about the rally in Houston that haven’t been debunked in advance. Prebunked? Did I just make a new word? Well, whatever it is, Trump fans will call it fake news.
Featured image via screen capture
