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By James Bickerton
News Reporter
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Donald Trump has been mocked on social media after footage from his rally at Temple University's Liacouras Center, a 10,000-seat venue, showed large numbers of open seats and entire sections of the upper level completely empty.
In May, a similar controversy arose over the attendance at a rally Trump held in South Bronx, New York. His spokesperson told Newsweek that 25,000 people attended the rally, though a number of journalists independently denied the figure.
Trump, who became the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential candidate in March, has been holding high-profile rallies across the nation in a bid to strengthen support before November's likely rematch against President Joe Biden. Pennsylvania is a crucial swing state, which Biden won in 2020 after it backed Trump over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
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Chris Jackson, a Democratic Party activist, posted a 27-second clip on X, formerly Twitter, of Trump at the Philadelphia rally on Saturday, in which the venue's upper tiers of seating appeared empty.
Jackson wrote: "Look at all those empty seats in Philadelphia. Old man can't even fill a high school gym fill anymore. Sad."
At the time of writing, Jackson's post had received 1,200 reposts and 970,000 views on the platform.
Peter Henlein, a self-styled "political junkie," posted the same clip, writing: "Here is a video of Trump at his rally tonight in swing state PA at Temple University's Liacouras Center, capacity 10,200. It's half empty. Zero attendees in the upper bowl.
"Odd for a guy that brags about pulling 100k ppl in NJ and 30k in the Bronx."
Another user posted a video of the venue that was recorded before the rally began.
"They got the entire back of the arena covered up with flags," the user wrote. "The capacity at the Philly Trump rally is 10,206 and they're not getting anywhere near that."
Newsweek contacted representatives of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign for comment via email outside usual business hours.
During his speech, Trump focused heavily on crime, saying: "Few communities have suffered more under the Biden regime than Philadelphia. Under Crooked Joe, the City of Brotherly Love is being ravaged by bloodshed and crime."
"Retail theft in Philly—I spend so much time here—is up 135 percent since I left office. The convenience stores are closing down left and right. The pharmacies have to lock up the soap," he continued, adding, "You can't buy toothpaste. You can't buy a toothbrush. You want a toothbrush, it takes you 45 minutes."
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Data released by the FBI earlier this month showed a 15 percent fall in violent crime between January and March, compared to the same period last year. This included a 26.4 percent fall in murders, 25.7 percent decrease in rapes and 12.5 percent decline in aggravated assault.
On June 27, Trump and Biden are set to meet in Atlanta for the first of two scheduled debates ahead of the general election on November 5. NBC News' Jake Traylor said on Saturday that Trump told reporters he had decided on a running mate. Trump reportedly said his vice presidential choice would "most likely" be at Thursday's debate.
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