Trump blasts NYT for rally crowd size estimate

President Trump lashed out at The New York Times on Wednesday for its estimate of the crowd size at a campaign rally he led in Nashville Tuesday night. 

Trump said the number of attendees at the campaign rally for GOP Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn was “many times” larger than the Times’s estimate of 1,000, calling it a smear tactic by the newspaper. 

“The Failing and Corrupt @nytimes estimated the crowd last night at ‘1000 people,’ when in fact it was many times that number – and the arena was rockin’. This is the way they demean and disparage. They are very dishonest people who don’t ‘get’ me, and never did!” Trump tweeted.

The Failing and Corrupt @nytimes estimated the crowd last night at “1000 people,” when in fact it was many times that number – and the arena was rockin’. This is the way they demean and disparage. They are very dishonest people who don’t “get” me, and never did!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2018

Nashville’s local News Channel 5 reported that “thousands” gathered outside the downtown area municipal auditorium, but did not make a specific estimate. 

Raucous Trump supporters at one point during the event began shouting “animals” — Trump’s new term for the MS-13 street gang.

Trump drew criticism early on in his presidency for claiming that the crowd size at his inauguration was the largest in history and larger than his predecessor’s. Photos indicated it was a smaller crowd than greeted former President Obama at his 2008 inauguration.