- White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany significantly exaggerated the number of people who attended a protest in Washington, DC, in support of President Donald Trump.
- McEnany said “more than one MILLION” people attended the “Million MAGA March” on Saturday.
- It’s unclear exactly how many people attended, but news organizations have pegged the figure at thousands, or tens of thousands — a far cry from 1 million.
- Demonstrators, including Proud Boys members, showed up to the event in Trump and MAGA merch.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, exaggerated the number of people who gathered in Washington, DC, on Saturday to protest President Donald Trump’s loss to President-elect Joe Biden.
“More than one MILLION marchers for President @realDonaldTrump descend on the swamp in support,” she wrote Saturday morning.
—Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) November 14, 2020
It’s unclear what the exact figure was, but it’s more likely that thousands or tens of thousands of people showed up, according to news outlets that reported from the scene, including The Washington Post and USA Today. Either way, the true figure appeared substantially smaller than what McEnany claimed.
Demonstrators attended to in support of Trump’s baseless allegations that President-elect Joe Biden’s victory is illegitimate.
Business Insider called the election for Biden on Friday, November 6. But since then, Trump has refused to concede.
Last week, Trump released a statement accusing Biden of “rushing to falsely pose as the winner” after dozens of news outlets projected the former vice president to have won the election.
“The simple fact is this election is far from over,” Trump said in a statement disseminated to news outlets.
Instead of acknowledging his loss, Trump turned his attention to ongoing lawsuits against multiple states. The Trump campaign is trying to undercut the integrity of mail-in voting with litigation against mail-in ballots. The president has baselessly alleged that voting by mail leads to widespread voter fraud.
Trump made an appearance at the Washington, DC, demonstrations Saturday, driving by and waving out the window to cheering fans.
—Sara Sidner (@sarasidnerCNN) November 14, 2020
Videos circulating on social media showed attendees wearing and waving MAGA merchandise. Most attendees caught on camera did not wear a mask. Some reporters said the members of the Proud Boys, a hate group as designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center, attended.
Some Proud Boys attendees wore shirts that said “Stand Back, Stand By,” a reference to Trump’s message to them during his first presidential debate with Biden.
The gathering was called the “Million MAGA March.” As the event unfolded, the hashtag #MillionMoronMarch started trending on Twitter.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment asking about McEnany’s exaggerated number of attendees.
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