Donald Trump’s ability to pack arenas is evaporating.
The president who once filled sports venues across the country couldn’t even come close to filling a 4,500-seat Arizona church on Friday night, exposing the dramatic erosion of his political momentum. According to the Washington Post, Trump was the featured speaker at a Turning Point USA rally in Phoenix at Dream City Church. Despite his boast earlier in the day on Truth Social about addressing a “BIG CROWD,” the turnout was sparse and underwhelming. The attendance numbers tell the story. A Turning Point USA spokeperson claimed only about 3,000 people attended — meaning the church was roughly two-thirds full at best. For a president who once commanded arena-sized audiences, the half-empty megachurch represents a stunning reversal. The demographic breakdown was equally telling, reports the Post. The megachurch was supposed to be a venue for Trump to drum up support among young voters. Instead, he found an audience whose members skewed older and were focused on divisions within their own party. Even longtime supporters were shocked by the sparse crowd. One Trump voter, Diane Niemann, a retired dental hygienist, told the Post she was “was not planning to come to the Friday event until she saw there was hardly a line to get in.” “I’m totally shocked,” Niemann said. The causes are multiple and converging. Voter dissatisfaction with Trump’s unpopular Iran war is depressing turnout. The declining fortunes of TPUSA after founder Charlie Kirk was killed have weakened the organization’s mobilization capacity. And underlying economic anxieties are sapping enthusiasm. Niemann herself acknowledged the political vulnerability. She’s worried about the midterm elections, and her daughter in Las Vegas has been complaining about gas prices, the Post noted. At $4.98 per gallon, even longtime political activists can read the political tea leaves.
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