### Fizzling Turnouts at Trump Rallies Raise Questions About Campaign Momentum

RALEIGH – In a pre-Election Day rally on Monday, former President Donald Trump addressed a North Carolina venue that was roughly 70% filled—a scene that's become common over the last week. Once known for consistently drawing throngs of enthusiastic supporters rain or shine, Trump's rallies have seen a noticeable drop in attendance since a controversial event at Madison Square Garden in New York last week, characterized by racist jokes and inflammatory language.

At his rally in Raleigh, the first of four scheduled for the day, over a thousand seats remained empty. Later in Reading, Pa., the arena was about half full before Trump's remarks, which were delayed by an hour. Similar patterns have emerged across other events. In Macon, Ga., on Sunday, attendees left throughout Trump's speech. Kingston, N.C., and Lititz, Pa., witnessed only a couple of thousand supporters.

However, not all Trump rallies have seen diminished crowds. On Friday night in Milwaukee, Trump claimed a fully packed Fiserv Forum rally, speculating the crowd could have filled the venue multiple times despite its maximum capacity being 18,000.

Trump's smaller gatherings have sparked curiosity, especially with notable declines in audience numbers as he continues to speak. This decline in crowds is contrary to Trump's vocal assertions, such as his remark during the Sept. 10 debate with Vice President Kamala Harris where he claimed, "We have the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics."

Campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt dismissed reports of the shrinking crowds, accusing media outlets like NBC News of attempting to discredit what she called "the massive, diverse political movement that President Trump has built." Trump has frequently exaggerated crowd sizes at his events and has questioned the authenticity of the audiences at Vice President Kamala Harris's rallies, even accusing her campaign of using artificial intelligence to inflate crowd visuals.

As the election nears, the smaller and less animated crowds at Trump's rallies have caught the attention of Republicans, though the reasons and potential impact remain unclear. Some speculate the frequency of his visits to certain areas or the early voting trend might be influencing rally turnout.