Trump Humiliated by Glitches in Speech to Sparse MAGA Crowd

Donald Trump’s bid to make himself the star attraction of his party’s midterm convention got off to an awkward start as he delivered a speech to a stadium filled with empty seats and early technical glitches.

Read more This Is the Sinister Warning About What Comes After Trump

The president took the stage at the so-called “Trump-a-palooza” event, 24 hours after insisting that the event had “sold out” and “everybody wants to be there.”

Trump, however, seemed oblivious to this, or chose to ignore it, telling the audience: “Not only is this packed, but you have an equal number of people standing outside… We have an amazing response. They love our party. They love what we’re doing.”

Footage of various empty sections of the crowd at one point as Trump spoke was spotted by the Daily Beast.

Meanwhile, NBC News pointed out that by the 90-minute mark, it was clear that “lots of folks have left the arena.” Reuters also fact-checked the president’s comments, claiming the ”upper decks are empty, large stretches of the side sections remain sparsely filled, and even with Trump onstage the arena is clearly not at capacity.“

The president also didn’t seem to notice the giant screen behind him, which began glitching almost as soon as he took the podium, giving the audience a series of rapid-fire images from the speakers before him, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, UFC fighters Justin Gaethje and Bo Nickal and economic policy advocate Patrice Onwuka.

Instead, he proceeded to give his greatest hits, from blaming Democrats for the affordability crisis or claiming he won the election “three times”, to demanding his party pass his signature voting reforms.

He also said that every adult U.S. citizen would receive a $5,000 “dividend” if Republicans win both the House and Senate in November. The only condition, he insisted, was that the money must be spent in America.

And despite GOP strategists urging Trump not to obsess over his vanity projects during the speech, the 80-year-old did exactly that.

“I built a ballroom, no taxpayer money. I don’t want taxpayer money,” he said.

“When I say it’s me and a bunch of patriots, they put up lots of money to build this, which is desperately needed, and it’s going to be beautiful. And everyone’s going to say, ”Oh, thank God!”

The two-day confab was always going to be a gamble for the Republican National Committee, who had agreed to make Trump the center of the event, even though his approval ratings are at record lows.

Read more Natalie Harp Spotted After Admitting to Secret Gift From Trump

Trump, however, doubled down, urging people “pretend that I’m on the ballot, just one more time.”

“Because if we lose you’re going to lose your border, you’re going to lose your tax cuts, you’re going to lose your safety and security,” he claimed. He also vowed to give people a $5000 dividend if Republicans win.

The event took place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, doubling as a fundraiser for GOP candidates -and in particular, Trump-endorsed Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton, whose history of scandals has left him in a surprisingly tight race against Democrat James Talarico.

Outside, not far from a gold-plated Mercedes, vendors sold Trump merchandise, from Trump rubber ducks, sequined Make America Great Again jackets, and $75 Trump bibles. Inside, as Trump blamed Democrats for America’s affordability crisis, attendees stood in lines for $17 chicken tenders and chips and $12 hotdogs.

Organizers had pulled all stops to pack the American Airlines Center in Dallas, including opening up a lottery for the public with the promise of VIP treatment, urging GOP operatives to give away passes to the two-day event, and blasting out unsolicited text messages screaming “FREE TICKETS” with links to the convention’s registration page.

Some participants told the Daily Beast that the timing of the convention–days after the Labor Day weekend; as children returned to school; and the opening nights of NFL season– didn’t help either.

Others were more positive, but acknowledged the risk of Trump himself being the centre of the GOP’s midterm campaign and asking candidates to run on his record.

“Elections are decided by who turns out to vote, and I believe that part of Mr Trump’s thinking is that he needs to motivate people who still believe in his vision,” said Jack Ethridge from Ohio.

Trump ended his speech after more than 90 minutes–far longer than the 45 minutes he was expected to speak–telling his fans he could be anywhere in the world. He also insisted no one had left, when many had.