Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 07:12 pm
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The crowd for Donald Trump’s VP announcement was made up of Trump family, friends, and tourists who were pulled off of the street and allowed to come in and watch.
Video and transcript of MSNBC’s Katy Tur via Media Matters:
BRIAN WILLIAMS (HOST): Katy, was there anything different about today, having covered countless [Donald] Trump events on the road like it?
KATY TUR: Certainly different. This was a room not filled with Donald Trump supporters from rallies, but rather a number of GOP — New York GOPers, some friends and family, and then just tourists who came in literally from off the street, Brian. They heard about it and they asked if they could get in. Secret Service swept them and they sat down, a little bit gobsmacked that they were able to get in so easily and that this wasn’t an event that had more invitees here. That being said, it was typical in the way that Donald Trump spent a good portion of the time talking about, frankly, himself, relitigating the primaries, talking about all the deals he’s made. Also, perpetuating this idea that he was against the Iraq war when he was not. He spent 29 minutes before he got to Governor Mike Pence [(R-IN)]. And he said part of the reason why he chose him — and he admitted this — was that he needed party unity, that he’s an outsider and that he needed somebody who would smooth over relations in Washington.
Trump has a history of this type of behavior during the presidential campaign. In the past year, Trump has gone as far as to hire actors to play supporters to make his New York City media events seem well attended and popular.
For a candidate who talks about national security and keeping America safe, the Trump campaign is very reckless with who they let into their events.
The fact that Trump had to pad the room with tourists speaks volumes about the real popularity of Trump’s campaign, and his struggles within the Republican Party.
Donald Trump treated the announcement of his VP like the taping of a late night talk show.
Republicans should have been able to stage a major event to launch the 2016 ticket, but Donald Trump refuses to act like a real presidential candidate.
The news conference that should have been packed to the walls with enthusiastic GOP voters was reduced to a spectacle for tourists to gawk at.
Democrats are running a campaign for president, while Donald Trump has turned the GOP into a cheesy reality show with no chance of being renewed in November.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
