With less than a week before the midterm elections, Donald Trump is seeking to shore up Republican support in key states. However, one reporter noticed something telling about the president’s choice of venue for Wednesday’s rally in Ohio.
NBC News’ chief White House correspondent Garrett Haake said he’d never seen the president hold a rally in such a small venue.
“I’ve covered dozens if not hundreds of Trump rallies and I can’t recall him ever holding one in a room as small as this arena in Chillicothe, Ohio. It’ll be packed and loud- but maybe 1000 people will fit,” Haake wrote on X.
Wednesday’s event took place at the Shoemaker Center at Ohio University, which has a maximum capacity of 2,400 people. In contrast, the university’s Convocation Center has a roughly 13,000-15,000-person capacity, depending on the event.
It’s unclear why Trump chose to hold the rally at the university’s smaller venue, but photos from several events on the president’s midterm campaigning spree have often shown rows of empty seats.