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Trump claimed that 35,000 people attended his rally in El Paso, but the fire department confirmed that twice as many people attended Beto O’Rourke’s rally as Trump’s.

Here is Trump claiming, with no evidence, just pulling a number out of the sky, that 35,000 people were at his El Paso rally:

Donald Trump Jr. pushed his dad’s false statement on Twitter:

Beto trying to counter-program @realdonaldtrump in his hometown and only drawing a few hundred people to Trump’s 35,000 is a really bad look.

Partial pic of the Trump overflow crowd below! #AnyQuestions pic.twitter.com/PKxkbcFNFO

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 12, 2019

The Fire Department Busts Trump’s Lie

The El Paso Fire Department had the real numbers:

Numbers don't lie.
El Paso Fire Department crowd estimates::
Trump: 6,500
Beto O'Rourke: 10,000 – 15,000

— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) February 12, 2019

Most of those people standing outside of Trump’s rally were not even from El Paso. The majority of those who attended Trump’s rally had driven in from hours away.

There is an ominous sign in these numbers for Republicans. If Trump can only draw a crowd by having people drive in for hours away, it is a red flag for the strength of support in 2020. Trump should draw huge crowds in the flagship red state of Texas. Trump was outdrawn by a former congressman who just lost a Senate race. Beto O’Rourke isn’t Barrack Obama. A presidential visit getting beaten out by Beto O’Rourke shows that Trump’s support isn’t a mile wide, but it definitely an inch deep.

Trump can’t even go to Texas without looking like a loser, and this fact should keep Republicans awake all night every night through the 2020 election.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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