Police in Georgia are pushing back on a claim made by a reporter for a taxpayer-subsidized news outlet who attended former President Donald Trump’s rally in Commerce on Saturday and whose report was widely referenced by major media outlets for dramatically undercounting the number of attendees.
Stephen Fowler, a Georgia Public Broadcasting correspondent, which is a local affiliate for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio, went to the rally for 2022 Republican candidates in the state, going on to report that there were “no more than 5,000 people” in attendance.
“It’s almost time for Trump to speak here in Georgia and there’s probably no more than 5,000 people here, the smallest Trump rally I’ve ever covered here,” Fowler tweeted. “Way less” than Trump’s 2021 rally in Perry, Ga. “(Closer to 10k) and nowhere close to 2020’s 20-30k+ #gapol.”
It’s almost time for Trump to speak here in Georgia and there’s probably no more than 5,000 people here, the smallest Trump rally I’ve ever covered here. Way less than the Perry rally in 2021 (closer to 10k) and nowhere close to 2020’s 20-30k+ #gapol pic.twitter.com/lokIiFONFC
— stephen fowler (@stphnfwlr) March 26, 2022
Fowler’s estimate triggered a response from Liz Harrington, a spokesperson for Trump, who responded Sunday on social media, tweeting, “FAKE NEWS! Massive crowd in Georgia last night, with estimates between 25,000 and 35,000 people. Fake news @stphnfwlr doesn’t know what he’s talking about!”
FAKE NEWS!
Massive crowd in Georgia last night, with estimates between 25,000 and 35,000 people.
Fake news @stphnfwlr doesn’t know what he’s talking about! pic.twitter.com/RoHz86Xyz6
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) March 27, 2022
Later on Sunday, Harrington tweeted out a statement from Trump that said: “We had a massive crowd last night in Georgia, but as usual, the Fake News Media absolutely refuses to show it. People are estimating 25,000 to 35,000 people, but our record so far is Texas with 87,000 people with 50,000 being turned away. This is really fun!”
NEW!
President Donald J. Trump:
“We had a massive crowd last night in Georgia, but as usual, the Fake News Media absolutely refuses to show it. People are estimating 25,000 to 35,000 people, but our record so far is Texas with 87,000 people with 50,000 being turned away… pic.twitter.com/LcwEvEEkGo
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) March 27, 2022
Just the News adds:
However, according to the Banks County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, there were 17,000 attendees at the Saturday rally.
Video footage captured by Real America’s Voice shows a large crowd at the moment the rally started.
Georgia Public Broadcasting receives money from federal and state taxpayers as well as private donors. A 2017 article in the Atlanta Constitution-Journal estimated GPB got a little more over 50 percent of its funding from taxpayers.
The story about the rally, titled “Trump’s Republican revenge tour falters in Georgia,” written by Fowler and Riley Bunch, at times reads more like an opinion piece.
“Three separate counts of the [2022] election, including a full hand count risk-limiting audit, confirmed that President Joe Biden narrowly defeated Trump more than 500 days ago, but Georgia is a state that he has remained obsessed with seeking revenge on those who wronged him,” they wrote, adding towards then end of their piece that there was a “crowd of around 5,000.”
That estimate was picked up by several outlets including Newsweek, the U.K. Independent, Huffington Post, and Athens Banner-Herald.
Also during the rally, Fowler tweeted, “Now it’s [GOP Rep.] Marjorie Taylor Greene. Here’s today’s Mad Libs: Jan. 6 wasn’t an insurrection, Hunter Biden’s laptop, Matt Gaetz, gain of function research, George Soros, lots of anti-trans stuff, ‘Stacey Abrams is the Death Star.’ Surprisingly, nothing pro-Putin/Russia.”
Now it’s Marjorie Taylor Greene. Here’s today’s Mad Libs:
Jan. 6 wasn’t an insurrection, Hunter Biden’s laptop, Matt Gaetz, gain of function research, George Soros, lots of anti-trans stuff, “Stacey Abrams is the Death Star.”
Surprisingly, nothing pro-Putin/Russia. pic.twitter.com/if3eG7BAcD
— stephen fowler (@stphnfwlr) March 26, 2022
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
