# Trump Crowds vs Biden Crowds **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 27, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062 "2020-10-27T21:13:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/121 "2020-11-02T00:10:36Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > I’ve seen several conservative acquaintances posting about how, “don’t believe the fake news polls” with pics of that rally in PA. They will certainly point to if and when he loses. They are all bad at math. Tens of thousands does not equal tens of millions. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/122 "2020-11-02T03:08:24Z")
The thing is that it’s hard to comprehend the size of this country. A rally of 10,000 people is simply insignificant compared to the number of voters. Over 120 million people voted in 2016. Here’s an example I like to make that shows how little influence even large public events have on the general public. Earlier this year, the k-pop boy band BTS announced their US stadium tour. They sold over 1 million tickets in less than an hour. Yet I bet most people here have barely heard of them. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/123 "2020-11-02T03:17:29Z")
I’m not sure if this is okay to say, but Sam isn’t actually concerned, he’s Just Asking Questions IMO. Putting a viewpoint out there. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/124 "2020-11-02T03:21:47Z")
“Well gee, I know everyone says Biden is popular, but I’m having such trouble wrapping my head around the size of the rallies.” ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/125 "2020-11-02T03:28:35Z")
Do Biden crowds get to watch equipment being used improperly fail right on stage as the candidate is speaking, causing the American flag to fall to the ground? Huh? Do they? > ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/126 "2020-11-02T03:30:11Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > “Well gee, I know everyone says Biden is popular, but I’m having such trouble wrapping my head around the size of the rallies.” Yeah. Not trolling: putting an argument out there without, um, putting an argument out there. More towards gaslighting. I first saw him do this in the Iraq war threads long ago, or especially swift boat era. “I’m just so confused, we should discuss this thing at length.” ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/127 "2020-11-02T03:34:01Z")
Interesting videos. Thanks for sharing. It would be nice if science was more widely understood. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/128 "2020-11-02T08:26:41Z")
> [@MN\_Maenad](#): > > I find it interesting that the size of the crowds at the campaign events is being stressed by the OP, but the size of the early voting crowds is being ignored. Exactly. According to a Stanford study, the first kind of crowd should simply he called a “death crowd.” Trump has killed about 700 people so far in this way — and not all of them his death-cult followers. (ETA: See Banquet Bear’s link). Only the second sort of crowd matters for the election. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/129 "2020-11-02T13:26:57Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Trump crowd last night in Butler, PA. Secret Service estimates 57,000 people, and it was only one of five Trump rallies in PA yesterday. Butler has only 14,000 residents, so most of these people traveled at least 40 miles to be there. That’s your answer right there. They bus the crowds in from all over. Trump is a cult, and it takes a cult to get that many people to drive that far out of their way to stand in the cold, and risk a disease, just for a chance to back in the light of their messiah. Meanwhile, within that 40 mile radius you specified is The [Pittsburgh metropolitan area](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_metropolitan_area) with a population of 2,324,743. So his rally, with all the benefits of a cult following, attracted about 2.5% of the population within the driving distance you yourself cited. 2.5% won’t win any election on the planet, even those run by authoritarians. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/130 "2020-11-02T15:42:27Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The 96 mile car caravan in Arizona is not a Covid risk. But it _is_ a silly unnecessary nuisance. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/131 "2020-11-02T15:43:54Z")
96 miles. So damn close to 100. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/132 "2020-11-02T15:45:04Z")
So why does Trump continue to encourage crowds of people to gather together in the middle of a pandemic, against all medical advice? Is he an uncaring idiot? I think this is the actual question here. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/133 "2020-11-02T15:54:11Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Is he an uncaring idiot? > > I think this is the actual question here. No, he is a sociopathic narcissist (or is it narcissistic sociopath?) who is grabbing his share of adoring crowds while he can. Don’t think there’s much question. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/134 "2020-11-02T16:15:27Z")
The OP seems to think that Trump’s large crowds are evidence of his incredible popularity, or his brilliant election strategy or some other notion. He seems to discount the obvious explanation, which is yours. ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/135 "2020-11-02T16:17:13Z")
There’s all the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy: he did tons of rallies in 2016, and he won, so it must be why he won. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/136 "2020-11-02T16:25:41Z")
Nickleback regularly drew crowds of over 10,000 in March, while Bob Dillon cancelled his tour. Therefore, Nickleback are much better musicians, and way more popular. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/137 "2020-11-02T16:47:19Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > There is a Trump car caravan that stretches 96 miles in Arizona today. Has a Biden bus been spotted nearby? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/138 "2020-11-02T17:52:31Z")
Trump enthusiasm is measured in rally size – unmasked super-spreader events in freezing cold with no buses, but that’s the yardstick. Biden is deliberately not scheduling large rallies. Enthusiasm for Biden is measured in long lines to vote. This is not rocket science, and I know which metric is more significant. ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/139 "2020-11-02T18:19:21Z")
A related question to Trump’s popularity… Are there lots of Trump2020 kiosks around your areas? Here in former GOP bastion Orange County, CA, there are dozens of roadside stands selling all sorts of TRUMP banners, flags, shirts, etc… and they usually seem to be pretty busy. Likewise, you can walk around the neighborhoods and see more than a few houses and trucks covered in multiple huge TRUMP2020 signs. For Biden, there are aren’t nearly so many houses decorated so lavishly but there are _many more_ houses with a standard 12x18" sign for Biden/Harris. I think that matches what is being said in this thread that Trump might have the cultlike slavish devotion of many but the Democrats have more people who are happy to vote for their side without making a big deal about it. I’m guessing it has something to do with the authoritarian tendencies of conservatives who need to believe that the leader of their pack is the best and biggest that ever lived. Mostly I’m just curious if these roadside stands are everywhere and if anyone knows where the money goes. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062/140 "2020-11-02T19:35:35Z")
> [@RadioWave](#): > > anyone knows where the money goes. Ha ha ha ha! Do we really wonder about this? It’s all about the grifting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-crowds-vs-biden-crowds/924062.md?page=8)