Trump’s Midterm Rallies Draw Smaller Crowds as Republican Enthusiasm Wanes

• by Shimanta Das
• October 14, 2026

President Donald Trump has embarked on an aggressive rally schedule ahead of next month’s midterm elections, holding eight rallies in October alone. But the crowds turning out are noticeably smaller than those that fueled his political rise, raising questions about Republican enthusiasm. According to an analysis by The Daily Beast’s investigative unit PunchUp, Trump’s recent events have been held in venues far smaller than those he filled during his first campaign, with crowds up to 75 percent smaller. Some rallies have even been relegated to high school gyms, a stark contrast to the massive stadiums and arenas of 2016.

The numbers tell a striking story. In Mobile, Alabama, during his first presidential run, about 30,000 people packed a stadium with room for more than 40,000—one of the defining rallies of his 2015 campaign. On Friday, in Syracuse, New York, Trump took the stage before a much smaller crowd. During the 2016 Republican primary, roughly 10,000 people had attended a rally in an air hangar there, according to local reporting at the time. The use of smaller venues comes as Trump and his aides publicly insist that enthusiasm for the president remains red hot. Trump, who has called his rallies “hotter than ever,” lashed out Monday at reports that he was struggling to draw crowds, insisting, “I never have empty seats.”

These appearances come as the midterm elections shape up as a referendum on Trump’s historically unpopular presidency, with Democrats widely expected to make major gains in both the House and the Senate. Fears remain within the GOP that turnout could be lower among Trump voters because he isn’t on the ballot. The president continues to express public confidence that Republican candidates can outperform expectations and has, on some occasions, even suggested a major electoral surprise for the country. Yet the shrinking rally sizes suggest that the energy that once defined his movement may be waning at a critical moment for his party.