Trump says journalists should be ‘arrested’ for reporting on empty seats at rally

President Donald Trump responded angrily to press coverage of his Saturday appearance in Vandalia, Ohio, saying on Truth Social that The New York Times and other outlets ought to be arrested over what he called dishonest reporting. The dispute concerns how full the venue was, and it shows how sensitive he remains about turnout at his events, according to The Independent.

Times correspondent Katie Rogers had observed that by the end of his remarks at Butler High School, a number of seats in the upper deck sat vacant. She added that the student center where he spoke holds 4,500 people. Trump rejected that, insisting the arena was completely full, that thousands were left outside, and that spectators in higher sections routinely drift toward the floor during his events. He also said he has cinematographers recording his venues to rebut what he termed false reports, and he complained that Senator Bernie Sanders gets glowing coverage for crowds of 500 to 1,000 while he is portrayed as drawing nobody with 50,000.

The event was meant to boost Republican Jon Husted, who is competing for a Senate seat against former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →