President Donald Trump and former Democratic Congressman Beto O'Rourke held dueling rallies in El Paso, Texas Monday night, and Trump was once again busted for lying about the size of his crowd.
Before arriving in Dallas, Trump had already set the stage for another showdown over how many people were attending his event.
"We have a line that is very long already. I mean, you see what’s going on," Trump said at a White House event with sheriffs. "And I understand our competition’s got a line, too, but it’s a tiny, little line."
Trump also incorrectly boasted right before the rally started that “69,000 signed up to be here," adding that "the arena holds about 8,000."
When Trump took the stage, the distortions continued.
"So we have roughly 35,000 people tonight," Trump groaned, "and [O'Rourke] has 200 people, 300 people, not too good."
Watch below:
In trying to diss Beto, Trump brags that his rally audience has 35,000 people. Fact check: The El Paso County Col… https://t.co/mgxnS7ANuT— Adam Best (@Adam Best) 1549939645.0
The president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., also overinflated the attendance at his father's rally.
"Beto trying to counter-program @realdonaldtrump in his hometown and only drawing a few hundred people to Trump’s 35,000 is a really bad look," Junior tweeted. "Partial pic of the Trump overflow crowd below! #AnyQuestions"
Beto trying to counter-program @realdonaldtrump in his hometown and only drawing a few hundred people to Trump’s 35… https://t.co/egdPjhpU8U— Donald Trump Jr. (@Donald Trump Jr.) 1549940386.0
According to figures provided by local law enforcement, however, the Trumps were lying. Zahira Torres of the El Paso Times reported that only 6,500 people were allowed inside the El Paso County Coliseum because that is the building's maximum capacity.
El Paso Fire Department just told us that Trump's statement about them allowing 10,000 people inside is incorrect.… https://t.co/dgAs6HMg5K— Zahira Torres (@Zahira Torres) 1549939537.0
Really?
@zahiratorres He can’t not lie. Physically impossible.— Lynn Elliot (@Lynn Elliot) 1549944896.0
@zahiratorres @Acosta Two things you can count on in Texas: A Donald Trump lie and cowshit hitting the ground. No… https://t.co/jaj93qpD4G— Tip Dammit (@Tip Dammit) 1549940582.0
@adamcbest @pennycake He does this because the people who are going to fact check him already know he's full of shi… https://t.co/9ymUlPZAd0— Eric Baker 🍕 (@Eric Baker 🍕) 1549942129.0
@DonaldJTrumpJr @realDonaldTrump El Paso fire department disagrees with you. It's okay jr, math is hard. https://t.co/l88kRjjusq— Tiffany Byrd (@Tiffany Byrd) 1549945374.0
@DonaldJTrumpJr @realDonaldTrump Why are we still worried about crowd size? You should be worried about being indicted— C (@C) 1549943571.0
@zahiratorres https://t.co/DkkP3mCcAQ— Renee (@Renee) 1549944806.0
Meanwhile, The Texas Tribune pegged O'Rourke's crowd at more than 7,000, although Bloomberg's Jennifer Epstein noted it was somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 - nearly double that of Trump's.
El Paso police estimate a crowd of 10,000 to 15,000 for the anti-Trump, anti-wall, pro-O’Rourke march and rally tonight.— Jennifer Epstein (@Jennifer Epstein) 1549941789.0
We have the receipts for it, too.
Check it out:
El Paso, Texas https://t.co/SsxZeNw1MJ— Beto O'Rourke (@Beto O'Rourke) 1549942132.0
Not bad, Beto. Not bad.
@BetoORourke Wow large crowd— Shellz (@Shellz) 1549942642.0
@BetoORourke @Purple_Zoya The world needs more Beto. ❤❤— 🌊❄️🆘🏳️🌈 Dexter (@🌊❄️🆘🏳️🌈 Dexter) 1549954781.0
@BetoORourke trump doesn’t know how to count, he thinks this was 15 people— G. Flores (@G. Flores) 1549942504.0
Here we go again.
@DonaldJTrumpJr Fact check: The El Paso County Coliseum is only a 6,500-seat arena. No way Trump got anywhere remot… https://t.co/g6heoLL4Y9— Adam Best (@Adam Best) 1549943557.0
@DonaldJTrumpJr @realDonaldTrump Obama Inaugural vs Trump Inaugural #AnyQuestions https://t.co/PJYeJEYxzW— Bishop Talbert Swan (@Bishop Talbert Swan) 1549944389.0
@DonaldJTrumpJr @realDonaldTrump Police report that there were 7,000 at Beto’s 6,500 at Trump’s How can you guys… https://t.co/Gu8RKMLi7P— ♻️🇺🇸 Christopher Zullo (@♻️🇺🇸 Christopher Zullo) 1549943457.0
@BetoORourke Thank you @BetoORourke for your thoughtfulness to do this rally. For every Trump rally, there should… https://t.co/WUYdVlgP0x— eyeswideopen (@eyeswideopen) 1549943029.0
@DonaldJTrumpJr @realDonaldTrump Hey Junior...FACT CHECK: El Paso Fire Department confirms @realDonaldTrump lied ab… https://t.co/3xULeNPvOR— Betty McBettie (@Betty McBettie) 1549983554.0
Size matters and so does the truth.