NYT: Yes, Cultists Do Walk Out On Trump’s Speeches

The New York Times reports:

The sizable support Vice President Kamala Harris has generated at her rallies has rattled Trump, who has emphasized, and frequently exaggerated, his crowd sizes for years. He has said, often repeating falsehoods, that his crowds are much larger than Ms. Harris’s and falsely claimed that photographs of the crowds at Ms. Harris’s events are doctored using A.I.

We attended six rallies — every campaign event that the candidates held within a three-week period in August — across six states, taking photographs and capturing video and 360-degree footage, to analyze which claims on crowd sizes hold weight. The analysis found that, despite Mr. Trump’s claims, both candidates draw comparably big audiences.

The Times found that people did leave early from two of three of Mr. Trump’s events, including while he was delivering his speech. Photographs taken over the course of Mr. Trump’s rallies show where people left their seats. The longer duration of a Trump event compared with a Harris one may have contributed to a greater number of early exits.

Read the full article. The linked piece is quite the photo presentation and probably best viewed on a desktop. Gift link here. Trump has taken particular offense to Harris pointing out that many cultists walk out while he is still droning away, so expect the usual spittle-flecked attack.

The NY Times did a close photographic analysis on how people leave Trump’s rallies while he is still speaking pic.twitter.com/gemenPAMJ0

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) September 20, 2024