Trump blames 'liberal' university for his empty seats at Georgia rally

Former President Donald Trump is blaming Georgia State for allegedly preventing "thousands" of people from entering the university's arena in Atlanta where Vice President Kamala Harris had packed the seats just days earlier.

Trump reacted harshly against the school's administration, suggesting it was part of a left-wing conspiracy against him at his Saturday rally.

He acknowledged from the podium several empty spots in the university's 8,000-seat Convocation Center, and addressed "school people" when he said: "I don't know what you're doing."

He said to the cheers of supporters: "Let the people come in! They're standing outside, thousands of 'em."

It's "obviously a very liberal school," he added. But he also said: "I know nothing about this school."

Besides the hordes he claimed were not allowed inside, Trump also charged that wanna-be spectators were even pushed far away from outside cameras broadcasting the rally.

The number of people outside the arena could not immediately be confirmed. The university did not immediately return calls for comment. Trump baselessly claimed during his hush-money trial in Manhattan that police prevented "thousands" of protesting supporters on the streets outside the courthouse.

Trump defended his crowd as images showing empty seats — including those from the Harris campaign — spread on social media.

NPR political reporter Stephen Fowler said on X that the Harris campaign used an "outdated" video screenshot of seats, but also noted that people left during Trump's speech.

Trump told the crowd that the school administration had "stopped us from getting another 500, 600, or even 1000 people in." Trump then again amended: "Thousands of people were told no, and that was okay. But we could have fit another 600 people."

Trump was so displeased by the empty seats that he noted he "wasn't sure if he would be sending anybody to this school." It wasn't clear who he was thinking of sending to a university. His youngest child, Barron, has already applied to universities.

If "they're going to "stand in the way of admitting people to a rally, just imagine what they're going to do on Election Day. We're not going to let that happen," Trump added, though it wasn't clear how he believed the university administration could affect Election Day.

In what seemed to be a major misstep at the rally to Republicans, Trump also viciously attacked Georgia's GOP Gov. Brian Kemp.

The governor, long a supporter, infuriated the former president when he refused to give any credence to Trump's baseless claims that the presidential election was rigged against him in the battleground state he lost.

"He's a bad guy, he's a disloyal guy and he's a very average governor," Trump told supporters at the rally.

Trump earlier on social media attack's Kemp's wife, saying he didn't even want her endorsement.

Kemp shot back on X, warning Trump to "leave my family out of" his attacks, and focus on going after the Democrats.

Tags

Donald Trump, Rally, Speech, Election, Kamala Harris, University