Donald Trump has faced ridicule after claiming that 29,000 supporters gathered to watch him work the fryer at a McDonald’s during his recent campaign stunt. The former president made the boast at a rally in Las Vegas, stating, “We had 29,000 people surrounding it. We weren’t sure if we were able to get out.”
While a sizable crowd did line the streets around the McDonald’s in Feasterville-Trevose, Bucks County, to catch a glimpse of Trump on October 20, social media users were quick to point out that the numbers seem exaggerated. Residents highlighted that the town’s population is only around 24,657 people, casting doubt on Trump’s claims.
Critics emphasised that there were likely around a hundred people outside the McDonald’s rather than the reported thousands. The small town, where the McDonald’s is located, has a population of 20,427 as per the US Census Bureau’s data from 2023.
Local journalist Tom Sofield reported for LevittownNow.com that the crowd was more realistically in the range of “several thousand,” refuting Trump’s assertion of 25,000 attendees. This is not the first time Trump has exaggerated crowd sizes, as he has a history of inflating numbers at his campaign events.
Trump’s tendency to focus on the size of his rally crowds has been a recurring theme. He previously made false statements about the attendance at his rallies, even claiming that a rally on January 6, 2021, rivalled the crowd at Martin Luther King Jr’s historic speech in 1963.
Vice President Kamala Harris has used Trump’s fixation on crowd sizes to her advantage during her own campaign. Trump’s assertion of having the “biggest rallies” has been a point of contention, with Harris implying that his supporters leave early out of boredom.
In summary, Donald Trump’s latest claim of drawing 29,000 supporters to a McDonald’s event has been met with scepticism and criticism for potentially inflating numbers. This episode reflects the former president’s ongoing preoccupation with rally attendance figures, which has become a recurring theme in his political activities.