Trump gripes about Harris crowd sizes, fact-checks
The former president falsely claimed Kamala Harris is using AI to make her crowds look bigger


What happened
Donald Trump on Sunday falsely claimed that his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris digitally manipulated photos of her recent Detroit rally to make the crowd, estimated at 15,000, look larger.
Who said what
"Kamala CHEATED" and "'A.I.'d'" a photo of a crowd greeting her airplane, Trump wrote in one of several Truth Social posts on the subject. "She had NOBODY waiting, and the 'crowd' looked like 10,000 people! Same thing is happening with her fake 'crowds' at her speeches." Trump "appeared to have fallen for a far-right conspiracy theory — one easily disproved by photos and videos captured by attendees and media," CNN said.
Trump also threatened to sue The New York Times for disputing a story he told Thursday about an emergency helicopter landing with former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown in the 1990s. Brown said that never happened, and the Times suggested Trump was remembering an uneventful 2018 helicopter ride with former California Gov. Jerry Brown. But former Los Angeles city councilor Nate Holden told Politico late Friday it was him in the emergency landing with Trump, in 1990. A former Trump employee confirmed Holden's story. "Willie is the short Black guy living in San Francisco," Holden said. "I'm a tall Black guy living in Los Angeles."
What next?
The Harris campaign has "begun to mock" Trump for his "obsession with the large crowds" she's drawing, the Times said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Bangkok: the new 'international capital of fine dining'
The Week Recommends Six Bangkok restaurants rank among the world's best
-
Five of the best luxury watches for women
The Week Recommends From iconic heritage designs to bold contemporary reinventions, these elegant timepieces stole the show at Watches and Wonders 2025
-
Bad news, alpha males. You likely don't actually exist.
Under the radar Most primate communities are egalitarian
-
Trump uses tariffs to upend Brazil's domestic politics
IN THE SPOTLIGHT By slapping a 50% tariff on Brazil for its criminal investigation into Bolsonaro, the Trump administration is brazenly putting its fingers on the scales of a key foreign election
-
'Trump's authoritarian manipulation of language'
Instant Opinion Vienna has become a 'convenient target for populists' | Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Could Trump really 'take over' American cities?
Today's Big Question Trump has proposed a federal takeover of New York City and Washington, D.C.
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
Is the Trump-Putin bromance over... again?
Today's Big Question The US president has admitted he's 'p*ssed off' with his opposite number
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
'The way AI is discussed makes it seem like this is a necessary outcome'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day