President Donald Trump held his first rally since Mueller completed his report. And while both Republican and Democratic politicians are pushing for the report to be made public, Trump and his supporters are celebrating the results. His rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan today was packed. Here is a look at crowd photos and just how many people attended.
Trump’s campaign manager, Brad Parscale, tweeted that there were more than 100,000 RSVPs for Trump’s rally today, with 14,000 indoors and nearly 20,000 people in the streets. Numbers from campaigns are often viewed with skepticism, so we’ll also look at number reports from other sources and compare them.
Local news source The Monroe News noted that the Van Andel Arena stands appeared to be completely full. A quick Google search for the maximum capacity of Van Andel Arena shows that it’s 10,834. However, Van Andel Arena’s website states that the capacity is 12,000-plus. Wikipedia lists the arena as having 12,858 seats for end-stage shows and 13,184 seats for center-stage shows. The seating varies depending on the event’s setup.
So although it’s unlikely they had 14,000 people indoors (as the max capacity doesn’t quite reach this size), it’s possible they a little more than 13,100 people inside depending on the setup. Here’s a video of the arena, which shows a packed arena:
The Trump Rally Tonightbin Michigan looks (and sounds) like the Super Bowl.
After being absolved of two years of baseless slander – it might as well be. What a vindication moment 🇺🇸
What’s tougher to confirm is the number of people in the overflow, waiting outside because they couldn’t get in, but it was indeed a large number.
Media won’t show this video.
The overflow crowd in Michigan outside the Trump rally 👇🏿👇🏿 #TrumpGrandRapids t.co/bqQc0I8Xzf
No matter how you look at it, this was definitely a big crowd that was filled to maximum capacity, showing that enthusiasm for Trump in many areas is still high. Democrats who want to have a chance at beating him will need a candidate who also draws enthusiasm, since Trump’s enthusiasm is still very much alive. The candidate with the closest crowd-size numbers so far is Bernie Sanders, who brought in about 15,000 or more to two rallies in California this past weekend. But at this point, it’s too early to tell who the Democratic nominee is going to be.
Here’s a front shot of the rally so far. I’m hearing @realDonaldTrump flight is delayed. Rally scheduled to start at 7pm. #TrumpInGR #TrumpInMichigan
Thousands of people lined the streets hours ahead of the doors opening for his rally, in hopes of getting a seat, Fox News reported. Local news source Monroe News reported that people started lining up at 9 a.m. for a rally whose doors weren’t opening until 4 p.m.
Here are some more photos from the rally.
GettySupporters line up outside of the Van Andel Arena for a rally with President Donald Trump.
GettySupporters line up outside of the Van Andel Arena for a rally with President Donald Trump on March 28, 2019.
Getty
Trump spoke for nearly 90 minutes at the Grand Rapids, Michigan rally. He spent part of his speech speaking against the Green New Deal, and promising to close the border with Mexico as two new caravans approach. He also celebrated that Mueller cleared him of any collusion with Russia and announced that he was going to get funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.