Last night I went to the Trump rally at the US Bank Arena with my wife. She is a passionate Trump supporter and was afraid we would not get a good seat if we did not get there a hour and a half early. I rolled my eyes and acquiesced to her request. I was surprised with some of tidbits I observed.
Tidbits
- At 6 pm there had to be at least 7,000 people in their seats. I hate to admit it but my wife was right.
- The lower half of the arena seating was full and the upper part of the arena seating was about half full. Since the arena’s capacity is 17,000 I am guessing that when you count the people on the floor of the arena that at least 17,000 people showed up for the rally.
- A lot of women were at the rally. The row I was seated on was entirely women except for a young boy and me. I am guessing that something like 40% of the crowd were women. Considering Mr. Trump’s comments on the video tape the number of women who showed up was pretty amazing.
- I messaged my son in Europe that we were at a Trump rally. He said, “Really? What do you think of the leaked recording?” I replied, “Unacceptable but not a threat to national security”.
- Every age group was equally represented.
- Very few people of color were there.
- The crowd was loud. At least the three women seated directly behind me were very loud. I think they accidentally bopped me on the head with their signs several times. I felt like I was at a basketball game or a rock concert.
- Mr. Trump gave a polished stump speech and looked like a man who is very comfortable with the role he is playing. As an example he hung around the stage for several minutes after his speech soaking up the atmosphere. When my wife and I got home that evening we compared Mr. Trump to an actor who is living the part of a Presidential candidate while Ms. Clinton appears to be an actress stiffly reading memorized lines.