(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Garrett Haakewho covered “dozens, even hundreds” of presidents that of Donald Trump rallies, expressed surprise at the size of the venue chosen for the president’s latest campaign event, saying he could not recall ever seeing the president speak in such a small space.
Trump is heading to Chillicothe, Ohio, for a rally Wednesday evening — part of his cross-country tour aimed at mobilizing support for Republican candidates ahead of next week’s midterm elections. In Ohio, the president is expected to focus on two key Republican candidates: Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), who faces Democrat Sherrod Brown in his candidacy for re-election, and Vivek Ramaswamywho is running for governor against the Democrats Amy Acton.
According to Haake, however, the size of Wednesday’s rally venue raises eyebrows.
“I’ve covered dozens, if not hundreds, of Trump rallies and I don’t recall him ever holding one in a venue as small as this arena in Chillicothe, Ohio,” the chief White House correspondent wrote on social media. “It will be crowded and noisy, but maybe 1,000 people will be able to get in.”
The event takes place at the Shoemaker Center, an indoor sports facility located on the Ohio University Chillicothe campus.
On Trump’s last trip to Ohio, on Oct. 12, he stopped in Youngstown, where he first noted — in a story he has since repeated — that he “started examining” Husted’s body after learning he was an All-American defensive back at the University of Dayton, adding, “I looked up and down.” I looked at his ass, and I looked at the whole thing – and then I looked at his hands.
As for Ramaswamy, the other Republican Trump plans to rally for Wednesday night, a new internal poll shows support for his campaign plummeted after his team spent $4 million to air an ad featuring his Democratic opponent’s estranged mother, who accused Acton of lying about her childhood when she lost custody of her daughter after years of abuse and neglect.
Trump, meanwhile, defended Ramaswamy repeatedly, lashing out at reporters who pressed him about the controversy.
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