Buzzfeed Senior Political Reporter McCay Coppins noticed something interesting on Friday night. Both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump held rallies in Utah, and there was a slight difference in the attendance.
Bernie:
Donald:
Bernie Sanders drew several thousand people to his rally in Salt Lake City today. Donald Trump… um, didn't. pic.twitter.com/bQI6KJ3gUk
— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) March 19, 2016
Even so, during his speech Trump suggested the media was failing to cover the story of how big his rally was. Kind of like no one will give him credit for his powerful hands. And yes, that actually came up in the rally. Again.
It’s not all about the size, guys like Trump say, it’s about how you use it. And this case he didn’t use it well at all. It was a flaccid speech, filled with the same old rhetoric and tired references. He defended his hands. He attacked Marco Rubio. He talked a lot about loving “the Mormons” and employing “the Mormons” and accused Romney of not being a real “the Mormon.” He made up stories about Ted Cruz waving a Bible. You know, typical Trump nonsense.
Meanwhile outside, the clash between Trumptalitarians and radical Bern-out agitators, though comparatively small, did produce scuffles with police and the only actual news.
there is NO daylight between trump supporters and anti trump protesters here in Salt Lake. Police backed off pic.twitter.com/oWVMIuq5kA
— Peter Doocy (@pdoocy) March 19, 2016
Protest scene outside Trump venue in SLC, Utah pic.twitter.com/VRtK512rbJ
— Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) March 19, 2016
NEW VIDEO: anti trump protesters and police getting rough with each other in Salt Lake City. Sorry it's shaky pic.twitter.com/cgFwyF8zce
— Peter Doocy (@pdoocy) March 19, 2016
Of course, clashes between supporters, protesters, police, and professional left-wing troublemakers isn’t how you measure the success of a rally. It’s by the quality of the candidate’s remarks and the size of the audience. In the case of Trump’s Salt Lake City stop, there wasn’t a ton of success to report. There weren’t a ton of people. Maybe Utah isn’t Trump’s state. Even though he predictably claimed a direct personal attachment to Salt Lake City, something he does at every rally in much the same way The Wiggles would to their drooling child fan base. Which is good. They had to be feeling a little insecure with such a disappointing turnout.
All in all, not very impressive Donald. Not very impressive at all.
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