President Trump faces empty seats. Ooops!

Now I think even Donald Trump must be getting worried. It's one thing to see the polls saying his rival Joe Biden is well ahead of him. But here he is standing before his adoring crowds of supporters at his first rally since coronavirus arrived on the scene and there are swathes of empty seats. What a shock for him that must have been as he surveyed his supporters at the tiered arena in Tulsa, Oklahoma last night. The publicity for the event had given the impression that despite the fears of coronavirus being spread around, the demand for seats was so huge that hungry Trumpites were literally banging on the doors to be let in. Trump claimed a million people wanted to attend. But the pictures inside the Bank of Oklahoma centre told a different story. A capacity crowd would have seen 19,000 people cheering the president on. But between half and two-thirds of the seats were filled. Now it could be argued that Trump had just jumped too early. Worries about the virus put people off and they didn't want to take the risk. That would be understandable. But supporters of Trump presumably believe the Trump line which is that he has beaten the virus and life is now returning to normal. If he said it was ok to attend the rally then surely they would have turned up. Virus or not, the rally might just be the first real sign that Trump no longer has that magnetic pull for his supporters. Sure, he got plenty of cheers and applause when he tried to rouse them with his "We are the party of Abrahama Lincoln and the party of law and order". But the empty seats everywhere could not really be explained away. Where were the million Trumpites desperate for tickets? Someone will get blamed for this, Trump will want heads to roll. His campaign team must have messed up. For a start, the empty seats will give his opponents the image they can highlight every time they get up to speak. Joe Biden will need to time his first rally even more carefully. If he gets a full house, then Trump really will be in trouble. Of course Trump is obsessed with numbers. He insisted on Inauguration Day way back that he had more people cramming around Capitol Hill than Barack Obama did on his first day as president. But, again, the pictures didn't stand that up. It's only one rally and things may change for Trump over the nex few months. But addressing a parade of empty seats at last night's event must have hurt.