President Donald Trump’s campaign operation has disputed a viral image showing empty chairs before JD Vance addressed a Senate campaign rally in Tyler, Texas, on October 13.
A social media post shared by the account “FactPost” on X, which shows rows of empty chairs shortly before Vance’s rally, had attracted almost 300,000 views at the time of writing.
It was captioned: “The crowd at JD Vance's rally in Tyler, Texas minutes out from the start of the program.”
But “TheTrumpWarRoom” account, which describes itself as the “official War Room account of President Donald J. Trump's political operation”, fired back in a “quote post” with its own video footage showing a sizeable crowd cheering as Vance arrived.
It said: “You are fake news. Here’s the incredible crowd for VP @JDVance in Texas.”
People in the footage could be seen waving banners saying “defend our future”, with the Lone Star State's flag on the back as the popular country music track American Ride by Toby Keith blasted out of speakers.
Meanwhile, local news organization KLTV (Channel 7) published photographs of long lines and reported that the event was “well attended.”
The argument erupted online as Republicans fight to retain an open Senate seat in a race where recent polling has shown Democrat James Talarico narrowly ahead of Republican Ken Paxton.
Texas voters are being offered conflicting visual accounts of Republican enthusiasm weeks before the November 3 election.
Newsweek contacted the “FactPost” account via a direct message on X, the vice president’s office, and the campaigns of Paxton and Talarico via email for further comment on Wednesday morning.
Why It Matters
Disputes over crowd size have become a familiar feature of American political campaigning because photographs and short video clips can quickly shape perceptions of a candidate’s momentum.
Available material from the Texas rally does not establish how many people attended.
Instead, the disagreement illustrates how campaigns and political accounts use different moments from the same event to promote competing narratives during a close election.
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What To Know
The viral post showed rows of white folding chairs, many unoccupied, outside a hangar at Tyler Pounds Regional Airport.
That snapshot spread widely because it appeared to challenge the image of momentum Republicans hoped to project during Vance’s visit.
Yet it did not show how many people arrived afterward, how many were waiting elsewhere, or how the audience looked once the event was underway.
Images posted by KLTV showed people queued behind metal barriers outside the venue, while the broadcaster’s report concluded: “The rally was well attended.”
Those accounts are not necessarily incompatible.
The material depicts different points in the event, meaning the earlier photograph cannot establish final turnout and the later video cannot erase the initially vacant chairs.
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What People in the Crowd Said
People interviewed by KLTV also revealed a political mood more complicated than either social media post suggested.
Abhiram Garapata said he dropped everything and traveled from Austin for the chance to see Vance in person. “It’s very important to keep our state conservative and our country Republican,” Garapata told KLTV. “Win the midterms so we can keep our state Republican.”
Mary Decker, who was at the airport for a flight and had not known about the vice president’s visit, offered a sharply different view.
A Democrat, Decker described Vance as “kind of a scoundrel,” although she said she would still listen to what he had to say.
Holly Hayes attended because she considered the visit historic for East Texas, but said her opinion of the Trump presidency had changed since she voted for him.
“I originally voted for Trump because I was sick and tired of both parties and Trump was not a politician,” Hayes told the broadcaster. “But now I feel like he’s been pulled in by the party.”
Hayes also expressed frustration with the choices presented to voters, saying she did not believe the candidates represented “the best and brightest of our society.”
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What Did JD Vance Say About James Talarico?
Vance used the Tyler rally to portray Talarico as a progressive presenting himself as a moderate, while urging voters to support Paxton.
“He is a threat to your way of life. He is a threat to your livelihood,” Vance said after criticizing the Democrat’s previous comments about meat consumption.
The vice president also called Talarico “crazy” and used the nickname “Tala-freako,” saying he would advance “left-wing ideology” in the Senate.
Local reporting said much of Vance’s speech promoted Paxton, whom the vice president described as “a man with a backbone.”
Republicans have sought to label Talarico a socialist and attacked his positions on gender issues. Talarico rejects the socialist description and calls himself a capitalist.
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The Wider Texas Race: What Polls Show
Polling depicts a close contest rather than a settled Republican hold.
- A ReconMR/Siena survey conducted October 5 to 8 among 617 likely voters placed Talarico on 48 percent and Paxton on 44 percent. Its margin of sampling error was 4.4 percentage points, making the four-point lead statistically inconclusive.
- Quantus Insights found both candidates on 47 percent among 839 likely voters from October 9 to 11, with a 3.6-point margin of error.
- A Trafalgar Group poll of 1,086 likely voters, fielded October 6 to 8, recorded 47 percent for Talarico and 44 percent for Paxton; its margin of error was 2.9 points.
- YouGov gave the Democrat a larger advantage, 50 percent to 44 percent, after surveying 3,625 likely voters between September 28 and October 5. The margin of error was 3 points.
What Is The Latest In The Texas Senate Race?
Paxton is facing questions after The Wall Street Journal reported that he attended a 2024 New Year’s Eve gathering in Dubai with Anosh Ahmed and Sameer Suhail, who had been indicted on federal charges alleging the embezzlement of $15 million from a Chicago hospital.
The charges are allegations, and both men have returned to the United States to face them. Campaign records reviewed by the newspaper showed that Ahmed donated $190,000 to Paxton.
The WSJ reporting does not allege that Paxton participated in or knew about the alleged scheme, or that the donations were connected to any official action.
Meanwhile, Talarico has returned to campaigning after nine days away with what he said was the flu.
The Lindner Center of Hope publicly denied an unsupported online claim that he had received treatment there.
No debate has been agreed.
Talarico has renewed his challenge to Paxton, whose campaign had not accepted one at the time of writing.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Edward Pearcey.