President Donald Trump and Beto O’Rourke held competing rallies today in El Paso, and both events saw attendance by thousands of people. Although exact numbers aren’t available, early numbers make it appear that Trump’s rally may have seen more attendees. (Later numbers indicate the crowds were closer than originally estimated, but Trump’s event still appeared greater.) O’Rourke’s event reported thousands in attendance, despite some misleading news to the contrary, and Trump’s had at least 8,000. Read on to see photos of the rallies and learn more about how many people attended. This story will begin with photos and details from O’Rourke’s event, which was held first, and then the second section will discuss Trump’s rally and the attendance. If more exact crowd estimates become available, this story will be updated with those details.
Misleading Reports Indicated Only 65 People Showed Up for Beto’s March for Truth Rally. The Number Was at Least Greater than 4,000, Possibly Higher than 10,000.
Some reports indicated that only 65 people showed up for the event that O’Rourke spoke at, but this was not accurate. Gateway Pundit reported that 65 people lined up for Beto’s event while 22,000 lined up for Trump’s. Although Trump’s rally did indeed see a huge turnout, far more than 65 people showed up for O’Rourke’s event. The Gateway Pundit wrote, “Well this is embarrassing. Only about 25 people showed up early to see Beto.” This is misleading, however, because many of the people who attended O’Rourke’s rally also were taking part in the march before the rally. Here’s what the area looked like as people were checking in during the early stages of Beto’s rally. The photo was shared on Reddit by u/Josh_Escobear.
Here’s another crowd photo that shows the big turnout for O’Rourke’s event. (The second photo in this tweet is the accurate crowd size picture.)
@RaymondArroyo @BetoORourke @realDonaldTrump How many times are we going to see pictures of rallies way before they start online with people saying there was no crowd there. Then when it actually starts there are tons of people there? Here is a live shot at the Beto rally tonight
O’Rourke did not organize the counter-rally to Trump’s MAGA rally. The event was hosted by the Women’s March El Paso, Border Network for Human Rights, and 45 other community groups. The event began with a march about a mile away from where Trump’s rally was held. The march led to a rally at the Chalio Acosta Park on Shelter Place, just .2 miles from where Trump’s event was held. At that time, O’Rourke delivered his message. His message overlapped slightly with Trump’s message, with parts of both happening at the same time.
.@BetoORourke marching
So just how many were at the March for Truth rally featuring O’Rourke? Gromer M. Jeffers of the Dallas Morning News estimated the number of marchers as being at least 4,000:
There’s got to be 4,000 people marching.
Jason Whitely of WFAA noted that “several thousand people” were in the march.
.@BetoORourke leading a march of several thousand people along a hwy by the US / Mexico border in El Paso. Theyre protesting @realDonaldTrump plan to extend a border wall, and marching to the president’s rally about a mile away.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Epstein from Bloomberg shared on Twitter that El Paso police estimated 10,000 to 15,000 were at O’Rourke’s event.
El Paso police estimate a crowd of 10,000 to 15,000 for the anti-Trump, anti-wall, pro-O’Rourke march and rally tonight.
A media call before the rally indicated that organizers expected 6,000 to 9,000 to attend, but weather might diminish the turnout somewhat.
On media call, Fernando Garcia of Border Network for Human Rights says organizers expect 6,000 to 9,000 people at march to protest @realDonaldTrump’s El Paso rally. Weather may impact turnout; currently windy and chilly (by El Paso standards.
Although some wondered if Beto would announce a presidential run today, he quickly quieted those rumors.
Just caught up with @betoorourke as he headed into his rally here in El Paso. Asked him if this was the start of a 2020 run and he said “no, no we are here to follow the lead of this great community and make sure the country sees us at our best.“
Here are two more crowd size videos:
More chanting at the counter-rally. #TrumpElPaso
El Paso, Texas
Trump’s MAGA Rally Had At Least 6,500 Attending Inside the Coliseum, with Many More Waiting Outside Who Couldn’t Get Seats
Crowd lined up in El Paso waiting for @realDonaldTrump rally tonight.
Trump told reporters before the event that 75,000 people had signed up for the rally online. Although that might be true, the arena where the MAGA rally took place only could hold 8,000 people, Bloomberg News shared.
Trump tells reporters that 75,000 people signed up for his campaign rally tonight in El Paso but the arena holds only 8,000.
However, later reports from the El Paso Fire Department, shared with the El Paso Times, revised the number in the Coliseum from 8,000 to 6,500. This is because the El Paso Fire Department said the Coliseum could hold 6,500, not 8,000, and a total of 10,000 people were not allowed inside.
El Paso Fire Department just told us that Trump’s statement about them allowing 10,000 people inside is incorrect. Spokesman says coliseum holds 6,500 and that is how many were allowed in building. #TrumpElPaso
The event was certainly filled to the brim with Trump supporters, so it looks like close to the maximum of 6,500 were at the MAGA rally itself, and many more were outside who couldn’t get seats. If a more exact estimate is available, we’ll add it to this story.
Trump tells reporters that 75,000 people signed up for his campaign rally tonight in El Paso but the arena holds only 8,000.
Trump Really El Paso, TX #TrumpElPaso
The music from Trump’s rally was so loud that people could hear it at O’Rourke’s event.
O’Rourke speaks and Trump rally music is audible coming from a quarter mile away
Thousands swarmed the parking lot, waiting in line to attend Trump’s rally. This photo was shared on Reddit showing a huge crowd before Trump’s event:
Just like there was misleading news about O’Rourke’s turnout, there was also misleading news about Trump’s turnout. This tweet, for example, does not accurately show the numbers who lined up early, which were in the multi-thousands.
Here’s a look at the crowd waiting in line for Trump’s rally.
Massive crowd growing to enter the @realDonaldTrump Rally in El Paso. #FinishTheWall
Brad Parscale, campaign manager for Trump, said only 900 people attended O’Rourke’s rally, which also was inaccurate. He did say that Trump’s rally may have had 35,000 in attendance, including the 8,000 inside the arena and the thousands who were outside.
Here’s a look:
Outside right now
This is a developing story.