Democratic Party Rally in Tampa Attended By … Hundreds

Judging from one especially revealing photograph posted by the Tampa Bay Times, the October 22 Democratic Party rally headed by former Vice President Joe Biden, Florida Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum and Democratic Senator Bill Nelson in Tampa Florida appeared to have well under one thousand attendees.

The Times tucked the image of the “packed gymnasium” at the bottom of its captioned photo essay on the rally–not that the other photos didn’t also suggest a sparse turnout.

[Click to enlarge.]

A conservative estimate of the above audience would be around five or six hundred, certainly not arena-sized by any stretch of the imagination.

Yet with careful photo and videography the event can be made to look larger and more impressive. After all, this is a “rally” headlined by a two-term Vice President and veteran Senator from one of the country’s two major political parties. Take a look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=30&v=aJZ96SKqUuU

In fact, the scene is reminiscent of the often poorly-attended rallies held by Hillary and Bill Clinton in the lead up to the 2016 Presidential Election, some of which actually appear to have required cable networks’ technical sleight of hand to help them look as if their attendance was much greater.

All the while, President Donald Trump’s rallies are at capacity and beyond, yet their size and attendance are usually downplayed by major news outlets. In contrast to the Dems Tampa rally yesterday, for example, Trump headlined in front of a capacity crowd of around 18,000 at Houston’s Toyota Center.

https://twitter.com/bud_cann/status/1054588734119673857

Though by no means a bellwether on its own, the stark contrast in enthusiasm and attendance between the two parties’ rallies thus far suggests that the anticipated “Blue Wave” may turn out to be more like a trickle.