Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump saw many thousands of supporters gather at several rallies this week, far outpacing his opponent, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who again cancelled one of her few campaign events.
A conservative estimate of those who attended Trump’s rallies added to those who attended his “America-First” energy plan presentation total over 26,000 for the week. That’s compared to the around 700 that gathered for Clinton events in Philadelphia and Orlando. Those numbers are based on news reports detailed below. Both made stops in Pennsylvania and Florida. Trump held two events in North Carolina and Clinton postponed a fundraiser in that state.
Chris Snyder of Fox News tweeted this view of Trump’s Chester Township, Pennsylvania rally on Thursday:
Wesley Robinson of PennLive tweeted of the “thousands” gathered for Trump at Sun Center Studios:
These posts noted overflow of the crowd in a “big auxiliary room”:
Philly.com reported of the Pennsylvania rally, “At least 3,000 filled the room where Trump gave his speech, with thousands more waiting in an additional overflow room.”
Trump also spoke earlier that same day to more than 1,000 gas industry experts in Pittsburg, laying out the details of his “America-First” energy plan.
Clinton wasn’t scheduled for any campaign rallies on Thursday as noted in a Trump campaign email blast and on a website documenting Clinton’s campaign schedule.
Clinton’s last major event was Wednesday in Orlando, Florida after apparently taking another day off. Clinton postponed a Tuesday fundraiser, “lunch with Hillary Rodham Clinton,” according to local WNCN News. The $2,700 to $100,000 event was set to take place at Betty Craven and Michael Warner’s home in Chapel Hill. A Monday night appearance on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon had been pre-taped on Friday.
The same day as Clinton’s cancelled Tuesday fundraiser, Trump held two North Carolina rallies. One at High Point University drew at least 2,000, a fire official told local Fox8 News reporter Jasmine Spencer around an hour before Trump spoke. The event — held in the university’s 1,750 capacity Millis Center — was sold out ahead of time. Fox8 reported that some students shown lined up outside were not able to get into the packed event.
Trump posted a thank you to High Point with photos of the event:
With a population of fewer than 900 people, Kenansville also hosted Trump for a rally on Tuesday that drew around 10,000 people, according to local WNCT News. Around 6,000 of those were able to get in and pack out the Duplin County Event Center. The venue’s website lists expanded seating capacity of 6,075.
Trump tweeted out photos of the Kenansville rally:
Clinton’s Wednesday rally in Orlando brought out “hundreds” according to local News13, which reported “as many as 500 people” at the Frontline Outreach Youth and Family Center.
Trump’s Wednesday rally in Toledo, Ohio brought out “thousands,” according to the Toledo Blade. Don King and Bobby Knight campaigned with Trump at the approximately 2,400 capacity Stranahan Theater, which was packed, and attendees spoke of additional people in an overflow room.
Clinton abruptly took several days off, including canceling a West Coast fundraising tour, last week after a health incident forced her to leave the ceremony at ground zero, commemorating the 15th year since the Islamic terror attacks on 9/11. She held just a couple of campaign events from Friday through a Monday campaign rally in Philadelphia that drew around 200 attendees at Temple University.
Trump, by comparison, packed an event arena with around 8,000 in Estero, Florida on Monday.
Both candidates held Florida rallies in early September. Clinton drew around 1,500 on September 6 at the University of South Florida. Trump drew around 12,000 on September 9 in Pensacola, Florida.
Trump has another event scheduled for Roanoke, Virginia on Saturday evening. Clinton appears to have a clear schedule ahead of Monday night’s debate.
Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana