'This is strange': Trump fans baffled by puny turnout at North Carolina rally

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Raw Story

December 20, 2025 7:43AM ET


Donald Trump's rally in tiny Rocky Mount, North Carolina drew a smaller than expected crowd to the economically distressed region, leaving merchandise vendors and supporters disheartened.

According to interviews conducted by the Washington Post, the presidential visit was marked by a sense of disappointment and disillusionment as Trump touted economic growth claims that contrasted sharply with the visible hardship surrounding the Rocky Mount Events Center.

One Trump merchandise vendor struggled to move inventory, marking MAGA beanies down to $5 without success. When addressing the reduced price, 18-year-old Thomas Schafer responded, "I don't have $5. We're really broke. It's Christmas time, man."

Post reporter Natalie Allison noted that regions like Rocky Mount face significant economic challenges ahead, as enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans—available for the past five years—are expected to expire in the coming year. This economic anxiety likely contributed to lower attendance than Trump typically draws.

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/trump-small-crowds/

[SSJVegeta]

1. That is actually strange

And a really good sign.


Let's hope it stays like that

[durablend]

2. Pity

One Trump merchandise vendor struggled to move inventory, marking MAGA beanies down to $5 without success. When addressing the reduced price, 18-year-old Thomas Schafer responded, "I don't have $5. We're really broke. It's Christmas time, man."

Maybe get a job or something?

[GB_RN]

32. I Live About 45 Minutes From Rocky Mount...

In a much larger city with a major, academic medical center (which is where I work as an RN). Many of the people here in Eastern NC relied on tobacco and other farm products - in one way or another - as their source of income. The tobacco settlement and urbanization of this area has really crushed places like RM. And of course, state and federal politicians have done jack shit to help. So, it’s easy to understand their anger and frustration. The Reichwing bastards running the state legislature are excellent at manipulating them and happy to take advantage of their constituents’ miseries. Again, while doing nothing to help.

All that said, I have no sympathy left for them. They have voted - and continue to vote for leopards eating faces, thinking it’s the rest of us who get eaten. And they refuse to face the fact that they voted to have their own faces eaten.

Screw ‘em.

[cstanleytech]

42. +100000000000000000000% agree with you there as I have absolutely no sympathy for any Trump supporter.

[Ocelot II]

3. Well, *duh*.

[AllaN01Bear]

24. ""

[LakeVermilion]

4. Who wouldn't be happy...

finding a $5.00 MAGAt beanie under the tree!

(Sarcasm!)

[gab13by13]

11. 2 would be better,

one to poop in and the other to cover it up.

[SunSeeker]

16. The perfect shit sandwich! nt

[William Seger]

5. "... touted economic growth claims that contrasted sharply with" REALITY! (nt)

[mucifer]

6. I hate to say this but historically his crowd size doesn't always mean those people won't

vote for him.

[NCDem47]

13. Agree.

I do think his everyday voters (Republicans of more moderate stripes and "soft" MAGAs) have gone back underground after doing their damage in November 2024. They have some shame, but they won't admit it and will fall in line for Vance, Rubio, or whoever in 2028. Plenty of inisde WH intel that the 2028 talk for Trump is allllllll trolling and pot-stirring up until the last possible moment when he hands off to someone else (if he's not dead or in a drooling state by then)

[Keepthesoulalive]

29. They want to feel like winners

When you don’t get your food stamps, your health insurance is unaffordable and there are no jobs and you have been laid off. His fantasies don’t match your reality you don’t feel like a winner you feel like a sucker.

[Beartracks]

49. That just means they're ripe for ongoing GOP con jobs.

[Keepthesoulalive]

52. They will not have the same energy

They felt connected to trump. They believed he was a successful businessman because of the tv show. To a certain group of people he is a charismatic and that is very hard to replicate. Republicans loved Reagan but this Grateful Dead traveling cult circus is something I have never seen in politics. I hope to never see it again.

[3catwoman3]

31. "...(if he's not dead or in a drooling state by then)"

Oh please, oh please, oh please!

[progressoid]

46. Yep.

After he croaks, we'll still have 30-70 million of his voters to deal with.

I have a feeling the opportunist VP Vance is waiting in the wings to take over. He could be even worse.

[BaronChocula]

22. It is an indicator of low enthusiasm

Low enthusiasm impacts the upcoming vote cycle. No party wants low enthusiasm on their side heading into midterms.

[live love laugh]

37. Or, maybe crowd size doesn't matter when you or your family own the voting apparatus

where it counts most.

That’s also how you “win” campaigning on cats and dogs, Arnold Palmer’s penis size and simulated blow jobs…that and a Republican owned media that covers none of this in detail or at all.

[BOSSHOG]

7. Economically distressed region

Republicans don’t need the billionaire votes and they’re losing the economically distressed votes. Results baby results. It’s as if they question the morals of a rapist and a convicted felon.

[Fiddlelady11]

27. Rethugs

Have no bottom, no morals and no honor.

[Grokenstein]

8. May everyone have the holidays they voted for!

[onenote]

12. unfortunately, folks who didn't vote for him suffer just as much as those who did.

[LuvLoogie]

9. He hasnt lost any core support.

This is NOT a change in his base or their core values. Their too busy posting laugh emojis at the ICE kidnappings. That's why Bovino is upping his presence.

[Blue Owl]

10. Fuck him and his stupid marks

[marble falls]

14. They do not need to wonder, they need to accept the inevidable.

[snowybirdie]

15. Friday night

Before Christmas.........
Christmas shopping
Christmas party's
Big playoff college game with Alabama
Travel to relatives
Said the same crap on Wednesday
Getting totally shit faced because its almost Christmas and Trump is President

[progree]

17. "Trump claimed a massive turnout and falsely stated that crowds of people outside were waiting to enter the venue"

from the article.

[Wonder Why]

18. I was disappointed in thread title word "puny" - I thought it meant the Ugly Pig was there.

[stopdiggin]

19. they have beanies .. ? maybe with propellers .. ? Hell, I'll put in an order right now!

Cousin Earle and n' his wife Betty Lou - gonna' be happier n' a pig in slops !!

[nikatnyte]

20. Why would ANYONE attend?

Listening to an addled old man lie about how good everything is (when you know it isn'r) and listen to him brag on and on about acing cognitive tests? Is that how anyone wants to spend the holiday season? I. Just. Don't. Get. It.

[flvegan]

21. The merchandise vendors are the true victims here. Why won't

anyone think of the Made In China MAGA America First merch?

[flashman13]

23. The Post reporter is groping for reasons. It's simple. More and more people hate him.

[sakabatou]

25. Why so baffled? Who the hell wants to see a shitshow in real life?

[Icanthinkformyself]

26. The cult

seems disheartened. Everyone say "Awww, ........... phuck them".

[Martin68]

28. Welcome to Karma.

[Ol Janx Spirit]

30. Rocky Mount, NC, isn't exactly tiny--around 54,000 people. And, while it is only around 28% white...

...it is only about 50 miles east-northeast of Raleigh--the state capital.

So, despite all of the other things happening on a typical holiday Friday night, the small turnout seems odd.

It seems especially odd given how much Susie Wiles really needs a win this week in the Slob Father's eyes.

Was this a swing and a miss; poor planning; a gross miscalculation?

Or, is it a signal of something bigger happening to an aging one-trick pony that is not really great at that one trick anymore?

Happy holidays Susie! Happy. F'n. Holidays....

[BumRushDaShow]

33. For some reason, even after posting the OP, your post just triggered a memory for me

I.e., a good-sized tornado hit there in July 2023 and heavily damaged a Pfizer pharmaceutical plant there. They started up some production that September 2023 - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143134889

And per a comment to the above video (which is a news report that was uploaded last year about the incident the year before), Pfizer apparently laid off "thousands" just a few months ago.

And then I stumbled on this about this tornado -

[Ol Janx Spirit]

34. Oh wow. Tragic and insane at the same time. Thanks for posting.

It's hard to imagine having a CT-centric brain.

I've always wanted to turn the CT concept towards a conspiracy theorist and just see how their brain would fare when everything they did in their daily life was turned into a crazy CT--even convincing their friends that everything they did was some nefarious scheme to deceive them.

Luckily, I do not have any in my life to try this out on....

I do love seeing the recent spate of right-wingers turning on each other with CTs.

[Red Mountain]

35. How many is puny?

Was there a number in the article?

[wolfie001]

38. One of the vendors said he was packing up early and also said he was disappointed

Sounds like it was a few broke people that showed up. Good.

[TheRickles]

40. "Fewer than expected" is all that the article reveals.

Which tells you nothing, but after all it's Raw Story....

[BumRushDaShow]

44. They were quoting from a WaPo article

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/12/20/trump-affordability-tour-north-carolina/

(I only get 10 WaPo gift articles per month and only have a couple left with 2 weeks of the month to go)

[reACTIONary]

47. Original WaPo article, paywall free....

https://wapo.st/4p0N2kd

You may have to register your email address to access.

[BumRushDaShow]

53. Thank you.

[wolfie001]

36. Most of those mountain folk were nasty to Biden after that hurricane hit

I saw their Shit Toks and their piling on. Now they have a thieving conman running the Govt. Sucks to be them.

[dflprincess]

39. They couldn't have expected much of a crowd

The venue he spoke at has a max capacity of 5,000

[LetMyPeopleVote]

41. Is this crowd like 200 people what is this rally

Link to tweet

[Bluetus]

45. Look how small that box of paid props is behind the lectern.

Last edited Sat Dec 20, 2025, 10:07 PM - Edit history (1)

That looks like about 75 paid people. That saves a little money if the camera stays on a tight shot.

[cstanleytech]

43. The saddest day in our nation's history is when Trump's father failed to pull out in time.

[vapor2]

48. The losers still clapped and cheered for his orange ass

[Justice matters.]

50. It's not everyday these idiots get to see a has been...

reality teevee host in person... the smell though...

[Mblaze]

51. Why should they show up for the man

who continually lied to them about the FEMA response to their 2024 Hurricane Helene disaster under Biden by telling them not to trust FEMA because they would confiscate their houses and then, as President, refused FEMA money to assist them in their recovery?