Donald Trump is once again mad at the media. This time, the twice-impeached former president is complaining that no one celebrates just how large the crowd of his supporters was during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, compared to his normal event turnout.
At a rally in Nevada, Trump reiterated his normal talking points, calling his own messaging “old-fashioned” — including the message that children need to be taught to “always respect our great American flag.” He then turned to the events of Jan. 6, in which his supporters attacked the nation’s Capitol intent on preventing the electoral college count and keeping Trump in office, all of which was fueled by lies that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen. Once again, he did not condemn the violence, but used the moment to congratulate himself on how many people showed up for him.
“You know the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen?” he asked. “January 6th. You never hear that.”
He then called the media “corrupt” again, because they “will never take a camera and turn it around and show them how many people are here.” Of course, that is not true, as there has been coverage of turnout for Trump events, including his inauguration day.
In fact, in September 2018, it was revealed that a government photographer actually edited official photos of Trump’s inauguration to make the crowd appear bigger, after Trump himself complained that the original photo showed too much empty space “where the crowd ended” and indicated that his audience was smaller than Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009. The request was one of Trump’s first in office.
And though the coverage on Jan. 6 was almost entirely footage of just how many people were attempting to invade the government buildings illegally, Trump was still unhappy.
“It was the biggest crowd and you never hear that and you see very few pictures of it,” he added. “But they’re there and that is the biggest crowd I believe I have ever spoken to.”
