Supporters and media alike crowded Wednesday into a community center gym in Orange County, Fla., a critical battleground in what is arguably a must-have state for any presidential nominee, to hear the Democratic nominee speak. Campaign officials estimated "about 500" people in attendance, and "another 500" in an overflow room – though Fox News counted only about 300 in the gym, and the pool report pegged the overflow crowd at "about a hundred."
That same day, Republican opponent Donald Trump was packing a theater in Toledo, Ohio, with an estimated 2,700 people.
The stark contrast – one candidate in an intimate setting, the other rallying thousands – was hardly unusual as the 2016 race enters its final stages.
Clinton campaign officials have told Fox News for months that the candidate's small rooms and small crowds are by design, to make the events more "personal."
But the difference in the optics underscores what some see as an enthusiasm gap between the campaigns, as the candidates head into their first debate Monday.
"Crowd size speaks to the energy of your base," said Joe Trippi, a seasoned Democratic campaign strategist who ran Howard Dean's presidential campaign in 2004. "And right now, Trump's base has more energy than Hillary's."
"Energy" does not necessarily translate to victory, a lesson Dean learned in 2004. Bernie Sanders' massive and passionate crowds were not enough for the Vermont senator to catch Clinton in this year's Democratic primaries, either.
Clinton campaign officials called the Orlando event a "policy speech," and not a rally designed to draw thousands of people. The stop was billed as an event where Clinton would "discuss her vision for an America that is stronger together and an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top."
But the Trump campaign, just as it tagged Jeb Bush with the 'low energy' label during the primaries, lately has seized on the narrative of a low-voltage Clinton campaign.
Hoping to capitalize on this tableau, the campaign sent out an email to supporters and reporters regarding Wednesday's events titled "A TALE OF TWO RALLIES." The blast shows a picture from Clinton's event in Orlando with a caption of "About 300" and a picture of the Trump rally in Toledo with a caption of "Over 2,000."
Trump held two events this week where he drew "huge" crowds. On Monday, the billionaire businessman spoke in front of more than 7,000 at an event in Estero, Fla., before swinging into Toledo.
The Republican nominee also has been using footage and images from such events to bolster claims that he's not just leading a campaign – but a "movement."
As Reported by FOXNEWS
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
