Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has been accused of having rows of empty seats at a rally this weekend—a claim some of his supporters strongly contest.
Trump traveled to Georgia on Saturday for a rally at the Georgia State University Convocation Center in Atlanta. An image posted by Kamala HQ on X—an account that describes itself as the “official rapid response page of Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign”—shows several rows of empty seats.
“Vice President Harris filled every seat in this same arena four days ago,” the account posted. In a video, Trump also said that “the school administration stopped us from getting another 500, 600, even 1,000 people in” to the event.
Trump blames “the school administration” for hundreds of empty seats at his rally
(Vice President Harris filled every seat in this same arena four days ago) pic.twitter.com/umQFE3643n
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 3, 2024
Another clip, posted by left-wing news network Meidas Touch, shows numerous empty seats at the rally. The account did not indicate the source of the image or at what point during the rally it was taken.
However, Trump’s supporters have posted their own videos showing a packed stadium full of supporters.
Far-right political activist Laura Loomer responded to the Kamala HQ account’s claim with footage she said was sent to her by a person at the event. “This is a blatant lie,” she wrote. “The whole entire venue is filled with people chanting WE LOVE TRUMP! WE LOVE TRUMP!”
Some X users have said the empty seats were reserved for press, with one accusing Kamala HQ of publishing lies. “An official account of a Presidential Candidate should not be able to publish insane lies like this,” user PJ Paul wrote.
Stephen Fowler, a political reporter for news outlet NPR, said on X: “The Harris campaign is using an outdated screen grab of a video feed to say there’s a lot of empty seats at Trump’s rally. The only seats that are open right now as Trump is speaking are a few rows for press that are on risers/on the floor.”
Fowler, who was present at the rally, said some people had left around 90 minutes into Trump’s speech.
“Trump has been speaking for about 90 minutes now—and some people have left! It happens everywhere, for both parties, with candidates of all level. Yet online outrage must persist,” he posted.
The Harris campaign is using an outdated screen grab of a video feed to say there’s a lot of empty seats at Trump’s rally.
The only seats that are open right now as Trump is speaking are a few rows for press that are on risers/on the floor. pic.twitter.com/cOGAfENDUQ
— stephen fowler (@stphnfwlr) August 3, 2024
During the rally, Trump touched on a range of topics, including criticizing Harris and branding her a “low IQ individual.” He attacked Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who refused to overturn the 2020 election results.
Harris took part in her own rally just days before at the same venue. During her speech, she told her supporters that the “path to the White House runs right through this state.”
According to an aggregate result of polls published by FiveThirtyEight, as of August 3, Trump leads Harris by 1 percentage point at 45.8 percent compared to the Democrat’s 44.8 percent. The Peach State was narrowly won by current President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
