President Donald Trump's empty-seat problem is growing as he faces the worst poll numbers of his political career, as many republican candidates struggle in heated races in districts he comfortably won two years ago.
When White House press secretary Katie Zacharia put on a bold show of confidence at her widely panned first briefing, touting record turnout at the president’s campaign stops, CNN was there to offer a reality check.
CNN anchor Erin Burnett did not let Zacharia’s claims stand unchallenged on Tuesday. As the president readied himself for more campaign events, Burnett aired footage from Trump’s Monday rally in Youngstown, Ohio, that told a different story.
Zacharia painted an optimistic picture of the president’s rally, even though photographs and other broadcasts showed their share of empty space in the crowds. “Attendance is at record highs,” she said of the hardworking Americans who were “lining up and packing arenas” for Trump and the Republicans.
Burnett was having none of it. On OutFront, she asked what the new press secretary was doing with her time discussing attendance with only three weeks to go before November. The claim “obviously does not add up,” Burnett said.
To make her case, CNN ran video from the Covelli Center in Youngstown where whole sections of seats were unoccupied, including those with a clear view of the stage. It was a direct rebuke of the administration’s version of a successful event.
The White House was quick to fire back on social media, contending that press gear and an American flag were responsible for the voids in the seating. However, CNN found that the seats by the press risers were not so obstructed.
It is not as if this is the first time there has been a disconnect between Trump’s audience numbers and what the camera sees. Back in Mobile, Alabama in October, parts of a 10,000-seat arena went unfilled at one of his rallies; The Daily Beast put the head count at 8,000 or so, a far cry from the 30,000 he drew in 2015. Yet on Truth Social, Trump was still putting out posts and videos lauding his crowds ahead of the Ohio stop.
Burnett tied the matter to the tough spot Republicans find themselves in, from an ad misstep in the Maine Senate race to how they are spending in key congressional races. She was critical of Zacharia’s overall performance as well.
In a brief session where she fielded but three questions after taking over for Karoline Leavitt, the new press secretary left an impression that one White House official called “brutal.”
For a president accustomed to using crowd size as a barometer of his political clout, the CNN coverage was an inconvenient reminder of the gap between the boasts coming from the White House and the seats that were yet to be filled.
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