Video of Reporter Discussing Trump's 'Pretty Empty' Rally Takes Off Online

Source: Newsweek

Published Oct 19, 2024 at 11:26 AM EDT | Updated Oct 19, 2024 at 1:32 PM EDT


A video of a CNN reporter discussing former President Donald Trump's "pretty empty" Detroit rally on Friday has taken off online.

With less than three weeks until Election Day, Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have been fiercely hitting the swing states that will decide the election, including Michigan. On Friday night, CNN reporter Alayna Treene appeared on Erin Burnett OutFront, speaking from the Detroit rally about 40 minutes before the former president took the stage.

"We're in this pretty large venue. You can't really tell, Erin, from where you are. Right behind me, you can see the crowd. But behind the camera where I'm speaking toward, it's actually pretty empty. They have not been able to fill this," Treene said. The Trump campaign's communications director, Steven Cheung, told Newsweek on Saturday morning, "The venue was filled to maximum capacity as possible under the regulations set forth. The crowd was high energy and roared as President Trump delivered his speech."

A clip of Treene's reporting was shared on X (formerly Twitter) Friday night by a senior digital editor for the liberal news site MeidasTouch, who goes by Acyn. The clip has received 841,100 views so far. The MeidasTouch X account reposted the clip and wrote: "CNN reports Trump is UNABLE to fill his Detroit rally." Former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, a Republican and frequent Trump critic, laughed at the clip, writing on X, "Haha...times a million infinities."

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-crowd-size-detroit-rally-1971633