Thread: PHOTO: Donald Trump Packs Arena, Hillary Draws 200 at Dueling Events

by MICHELLE MOONS
19 Sep 2016
1,546 comments

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump packed an Estero, Florida arena with thousands inside and more outside for a Monday rally.

The News-Press estimated the crowd at more than 8,000 people and the heat at over 90 degrees outside the arena where attendees stood before gaining entrance to the event.

Meanwhile Hillary Clinton spoke at Temple University the same day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was reportedly attended by less than 200 people. At the event targeted to millennial voters she acknowledged a need to court the youth vote, according to local NBC10 News. Clinton’s campaign launched “Pennsylvania Millennials for Hillary” aimed at showing support for boosting youth economic opportunities and dealing with college debt.

By way of further comparison, Hillary Clinton held a rally at the University of South Florida on September 6 that drew a 1,500 person crowd, according to the Tampa Bay Times, while a September 9 rally for Trump in Pensacola drew 12,000, according to WTSP10 News.Trump declared that those wanting to come to America must love the United States and Americans during his Monday afternoon rally near Fort Meyers.

Chanting broke out in the crowd in response to Trump: “U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.”

After a brief pause Trump began clapping for the crowd and said of them, “What amazing people.”

“Ya know Florida, I think we’re gonna win by a lot. We’ll win by a lot,” declared Trump.

“I can say this, when Hillary [Clinton] comes in, she has very small crowds. That I can tell you. And I hope the press is covering the size of this arena and the crowd here and the thousands that are outside … Which they’re not. Which they’re not,” Trump said.

Clinton held a rally at the University of South Florida in early September that drew a much smaller 1,500 person crowd, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Clinton has a rally planned for this coming Wednesday in Orlando, Florida, according to WESH2 News. The venue and time were not yet disclosed.

CBS News campaign trail journalist Sopan Deb tweeted a photo showing the size of the Fort Meyers Trump crowd:


Sopan Deb ✔ @SopanDeb
#sopanorama from Estero, Florida. It's hot down here.
12:47 PM - 19 Sep 2016

RightSide Broadcasting tweeted that its livestream broadcast of the Trump event had reached over 33,000 viewers.

Germain Arena, the location where the Trump rally was held, holds a seating capacity of 7,000 for most events according to the arena’s website, and over 8,500 for concerts.

The News-Press tweeted video of Trump rally-goers observing the National Anthem:

(video within tweet)
The News-Press ✔ @TheNewsPress
#TrumpSWFL Crowd goes wild for National Anthem.
12:45 PM - 19 Sep 2016

DailyMail U.S. Political Editor David Martosko tweeted this photo of the Florida crowd inside:


David Martosko ✔ @dmartosko
Trump's crowd today in Fort Myers. Packed house. Can't get them all in without a wide-angle lens.
1:43 PM - 19 Sep 2016 · Tampa, FL, United States

Martosko also testified in a tweet to the crowd gathered outside:

David Martosko ✔ @dmartosko
Massive Trump crowd waiting outside Ft. Myers rally including topless woman wearing stars & stripes body paint. Bus went too fast for photo.
12:32 PM - 19 Sep 2016

Meanwhile Clinton spoke at Temple University the same day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

CBS Philly tweeted a photo of the event:


CBS Philly ✔ @CBSPhilly
.@HillaryClinton In Philly, Makes Pitch For Millennial Votes At Temple http://cbsloc.al/2cikNZU?cid=twitter_CBSPhilly …
12:36 PM - 19 Sep 2016

Fox News contributor Jesse Watters posted this photo from Temple:

Jesse Watters ✔ @jessebwatters
So this is the vibe at the Hillary Clinton "rally" right now... #imwithher #turnup @ Temple… https://www.instagram.com/p/BKizLJVDmdi/
9:11 AM - 19 Sep 2016
(great photo of probably a student sleeping but unable to paste here, please click on source link to view)

Politico Magazine Senior Writer Michael Grunwald tweeted this about the Temple Clinton rally:


Michael Grunwald ✔ @MikeGrunwald
Hillary can put a few kids in the rafters but there are still less than 200 people here.
9:11 AM - 19 Sep 2016


Michael Grunwald ✔ @MikeGrunwald
I did get the sense this mini-crowd was carefully screened (curated?) for Hillary loyalists. https://twitter.com/mikegrunwald/sta...96563771191296 …
10:40 AM - 19 Sep 2016
Michael Grunwald ✔ @MikeGrunwald
The enthusiasm gap is real but some young people love Hillary. "She's empowering us. She's lifting up our issues."
10:32 AM - 19 Sep 2016

A RealClearPolitics average of Florida polls puts Trump up slightly on Clinton, 45.7 percent to 44.8 as of Monday afternoon.

This comes despite Clinton far outspending Trump in campaign ads in Florida, according to the New York Times.

http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presid...on-in-florida/

OH WOW!! Those Fort Myers photos of Trump Supporters, filling the arena to the rafters .... is just beautiful, absolutely beautiful!!! It's so exciting to see these photos. Showing the crowds of such happy, enthusiastic, wonderful people is the best advertisement for Trump that there is. It's addicting, you want to part of it, it draws you in, so please disperse these far and wide to as many people as possible so they understand who Trump Supporters are and how many there are.

It's truly a Movement of the American People to take our country back, fix it, and set it on the right course to a bright future for all of our citizens.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT!!

VOTE FOR DONALD J TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!!