Trump is ranting about crowd size coverage again
It wouldn't be a signature Trump speech without a reference to crowd size, right?
President Trump lashed out at The New York Times for estimating that his speech in Tennessee drew a crowd of "about 1,000."
Trump said that the paper was trying to "demean and disparage" him when it published an article that said he "worked his audience of about 1,000 into a frenzy." The president has regularly focused on crowd size as an indicator of his popularity, previously complaining that media reports had underestimated the size of the crowd at his inauguration.
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.
At his rally-style speech, Trump exclaimed, "this is a big crowd of people. This is a lot of people," in addition to bragging about his Electoral College win back in 2016. It's unclear exactly how many people attended the event, which was to boost Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), but photos indicate that the auditorium, with a capacity of 9,700, was not filled.
To the Times, Trump's speech was "raucous," "brash," and "richly embellished." To Trump, it was simply a "rockin'" good time, and claims otherwise must be another wave of "alternative facts."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
West Africa’s ‘coup cascade’The Explainer Guinea-Bissau takeover is the latest in the Sahel region, which has quietly become global epicentre of terrorism
-
Daddy Pig: an unlikely flashpoint in the gender warsTalking Point David Gandy calls out Peppa Pig’s dad as an example of how TV portrays men as ‘useless’ fools
-
Codeword: December 3, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Canada joins EU’s $170B SAFE defense fundspeed read This makes it the first non-European Union country in the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative
-
Appeals court disqualifies US Attorney Alina HabbaSpeed Read The former personal attorney to President Donald Trump has been unlawfully serving as US attorney for New Jersey, the ruling says
-
White House says admiral ordered potential war crimeSpeed Read The Trump administration claims Navy Vice Adm. Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley ordered a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat, not Pete Hegseth
-
Honduras votes amid Trump push, pardon vowspeed read President Trump said he will pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving 45 years for drug trafficking
-
Congress seeks answers in ‘kill everybody’ strike reportSpeed Read Lawmakers suggest the Trump administration’s follow-up boat strike may be a war crime
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
