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At a recent midterm election campaign event in Pennsylvania attended by people like Dr. Mehmet Oz and others, a special visit by former President Donald Trump seemed to have the opposite of its intended effect. Oz, who is best known as a medical television show, is vying as a Republican for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. John Fetterman, the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, is his Democratic opponent, and the next midterm elections will see this contest rank among the closest and most unpredictable.
Trump made an appearance at a rally on Saturday in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, which is a suburb of Pittsburgh. The former president spoke on the tarmac of the Arnold Palmer International Airport in support of Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, and Oz, both of whom he endorsed before their respective primary victories.
Guy at Trump rally today says his PAC has spent $2.3 million to help Oz, but he says that Oz has to win by 4-5 points to “beat the cheat” and overcome Democrats having dead people vote for Fetterman. pic.twitter.com/gSzqaiT8ik
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) November 5, 2022
Trump chided the media for not turning “the cameras around” at such events to show the crowds that he allegedly gathers at his rallies, according to Fabiola Galindo Sawao, a reporter covering the event. In doing so, Sawao managed to record a video that was less than kind to Trump and the argument he was seeking to make.
Sawao tweeted a video of a smaller crowd on Saturday night, writing, “Trump complained that ‘the media never turn the cameras around so I did and observed half the crowd at this PA rally had left thirty minutes before it concluded.
Less than 10,000 people have watched the video on Twitter as of Sunday morning. Sawao asserted that she thinks “what truly matters is who shows up to vote” on Tuesday, despite the less-than-favorable audience size. Above: In September, former President Donald Trump is pictured attending a campaign event in Pennsylvania. In a video from Saturday, it seems like fewer people were present as Trump spoke at a rally in favor of Dr. Mehmet Oz and Doug Mastriano.
Former President Donald Trump teased a large crowd of supporters at a rally at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity on Saturday evening about a potential bid for a return to the White House. Via @TribLIVE https://t.co/f3ezAJNJwn
— Ryan Deto (@RyanDeto) November 6, 2022
However, conservative Twitter users had different opinions, pointing out the magnitude of the rally’s turnout. A peek at the line for the event from earlier in the day was shared by OANN reporter Daniel Baldwin, while a glimpse at the crowd was provided by Twitter user Vince Langman around 35 minutes before Sawao’s video was captured.
Given that the other tweets were from earlier in the day, it is still conceivable, to Sawao’s point, that people started leaving before Trump finished his speech based on the timeframe of all three posts. Additionally, it wouldn’t be the first time that attendees left a recent event as the former president was still speaking.
While covering a Trump rally in Michigan at the beginning of October, Detroit Free Press writer Paul Egan tweeted numerous times, observing that attendees appeared to be “flowing out” of the event while Trump was still speaking.
Since the speech’s 15-minute point, which is currently an hour long and going strong, there has also been a steady trickle of guests leaving the room, Egan tweeted. “The former president of the United States uttered a few words on the [Michigan GOP candidates] before venting his usual complaints. Trump eventually made a comeback to the MI candidates, inviting Dixon, DePerno, and Karamo to speak once more. Trump criticized Gov. Whitmer once more over law enforcement, the environment, and other topics.”
