Donald Trump’s Lack of Rallies Draws Scrutiny

Former President Donald Trump has been mocked by the White House for having no upcoming campaign rallies for his 2024 presidential bid.

According to Trump’s online schedule, the presumptive Republican nominee has no planned rallies or official campaign events less than eight months before his rematch with President Joe Biden.

The only rally Trump has attended since he clinched the 2024 GOP nomination on March 12 was four days later in Vandalia, Ohio. That rally was not even an official Trump campaign event, and instead was hosted by Buckeye Values PAC, a group backing Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, who has been endorsed by the former president.

In comparison, Biden has appeared at campaign events in the swing states of Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina, as well as multiple events in Texas, in the past seven days alone.

“We are two weeks into the general election and Donald Trump can’t raise money, is hiding at his country club, and is letting convicts and conspiracy theorists take over his campaign,” Biden campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa told the Associated Press. “That is not a winning strategy.”

Bill Palmer, a frequent Trump critic who writes the left-wing blog The Palmer report, suggested the former president’s lack of rallies is the “biggest storyline in politics right now.”

“As of right now Donald Trump has zero events on his public schedule. No rallies, no speeches, no nothing. And it’s not a temporary thing,” Palmer wrote.

“Trump’s handlers used campaign finance constraints as an excuse. But it was obvious that they were pulling the plug because Trump is now so dementia-riddled, his political prospects are more harmed by him being out there than by not being out there.”

Trump’s office has been contacted for comment via email.

The lack of Trump rallies from late March onward could be linked to the former president’s busy schedule across his four criminal trials and appeals in his civil cases.

March 25 was originally the start state for Trump’s falsifying business records trial in New York, but the judge pushed it back so both parties could sort through more than 100,000 pages of evidence that federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

On Monday, in a hearing attended by Trump, Judge Juan Merchan confirmed the falsifying business trial in which Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges will start on April 15, potentially tying up the former president for weeks as he attends the proceedings in New York.

Trump could also go on trial in three other federal and state cases related to his alleged criminal attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and retention of classified documents in the coming months. The dates for these trials either have not been confirmed or are expected to change.

There have also been indications that Trump’s lack of upcoming rallies may be a cost-cutting measure. Federal Election Commission filings showed that Trump’s leadership political action committee spent more than $7.2 million while bringing in just over $5 million in February.

It was recently reported that Trump had planned a campaign rally in Arizona the same weekend as the one he attended to show support for Moreno. CNN reported, citing unnamed sources, that the plans were scrapped to save money.

Trump senior adviser Chris LaCivita previously suggested that each of Trump’s campaign rallies costs about $500,000 to hold.

Rather than campaigning across the country, Trump appears more to be engaging in smaller fundraising attempts in his adopted home state of Florida.

Trump’s super political action committee held a $100,000-per-person roundtable with Hispanic leaders at his golf club in Doral, Florida, on March 21, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by AP.

In the days after he clinched the GOP nomination, Trump held multiple events at his Mar-a-Lago club to try to woo Republican donors.

Even while not holding rallies, Trump can still guarantee press coverage no matter where he goes. On Monday, after Merchan confirmed the April start date for his falsifying business records trial, Trump held a press conference at his 40 Wall Street building.

While speaking to reporters, Trump rejected the idea that a conviction could damage his White House hopes.

“Or it could also make me more popular, because the people know it’s a scam,” Trump said.

As noted by former NBC senior executive Mike Sington on X: “Trump back in court today for a hearing on his hush money criminal trial.

“It’s much cheaper for him to be here ‘campaigning’ rather than putting on one of his signature rallies, which are estimated to cost $400,000 a piece.”