Early in his remarks, Trump alluded to the unprecedented nature of the two-day gathering in Dallas, including skepticism that people would be clamoring to attend.
It’s the first-ever GOP midterm convention, an affair that more resembles a combination rally and fundraiser, as no official party business is being conducted this week.
“This place is packed. And not only is this packed, this is a big arena, not only is this packed, but you have an equal number of people standing outside,” Trump said of the American Airlines Center. “If anybody would like to give up their seat . . . would anybody like to raise your hand and give up your seat?”
The floor of the arena and the lower bowl were mostly full, but some sections of the upper level were sparsely populated, with entire rows empty.
Organizers went through different approaches to distributing tickets to the Dallas gathering, with the Republican National Committee initially allocating tickets to state parties.
As the convention approached, tickets were being offered to Dallas-area residents for free.
Trump brought up the crowd size several times during his speech, repeatedly calling the arena “packed” while predicting news outlets would say otherwise.
“The fake news will go around and see that man up there? He’s leaving for the bathroom. He’ll be back in two minutes,” Trump said. “They’ll take a picture of his seat while he’s gone. And they’ll say, ‘Trump did not fill up the arena. The arena was not filled. Look at the seat.’”
The commentary drew laughter from the crowd, as Trump made a request that attendees wait until after his speech to heed nature’s call.
“So please, if you don’t mind, don’t anybody go to the bathroom,” Trump said.