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Home / World

US election: Trump press secretary Kayleigh McEnany's bizarre 'million' march claim

By Benedict Brook
news.com.au·
14 Nov, 2020 10:09 PM4 mins to read

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Kayleigh McEnany falsely claimed that a million people turned up to a pro-Trump march. Photo / Getty Images

Kayleigh McEnany falsely claimed that a million people turned up to a pro-Trump march. Photo / Getty Images

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany is getting some heat on social media apparently estimating one million people had turned up to the so-called "Million MAGA March" in Washington DC.

Taking place on Saturday (US time), protesters furious at the US election result – which Donald Trump has lost – are gathering in the capital.

The march is known under various names including the Million MAGA March (MAGA being Trump's slogan of "Make America Great Again"), "March for Trump" and "Stop the Steal".

Photo / Twitter
Photo / Twitter

Those in attendance back Trump's position to not concede the election. Many believe unproven claims the poll was dogged by fraud, although many cases brought by the Trump team alleging fraud and voting irregularities have been thrown out.

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While some of those protesting are everyday Trump supporters, there are also some less savoury elements at the rally, including extremist far-right group The Proud Boys.

As the crowd gathered, McEnany tweeted screen grabs from Fox News and said the march was "AMAZING!"

"More than one MILLION marchers for President Trump descend on swamp in support".

AMAZING!

More than one MILLION marchers for President @realDonaldTrump descend on the swamp in support.

Best base in political history — we LOVE you guys!!! ❤️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/vU65nqCSns

— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) November 14, 2020

But was it really a million people? While there was certainly a crowd over one or two city blocks, it seemed to be a lot fewer people than a million. Perhaps a few thousand would be more accurate.

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McEnany's throwaway "million" line led to some ribbing.

"Big Sean Spicer energy here," said Sawyer Hackett who was a staffer in the Obama administration referring to one of McEnany's predecessors who falsely said Trump's 2017 inauguration attracted the biggest crowd of such an event in history.

Big @seanspicer energy here. A million people 😂 https://t.co/OuP7VrQxav

— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) November 14, 2020

Others pointed out that when you zoomed out, the crowd thinned out very quickly.

Journalist Max Burns said: "The inability to tell the difference between a Thousand MAGA March and a Million MAGA March is another reason Trump lost the counts in GA, PA, MI, AZ, NV and WI."

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CNN said there were not "remotely" one million people at the Million MAGA March.

Trump doubles down on "massive" march claims

US President Donald Trump is railing at suggestions the "Million MAGA March" in Washington DC isn't that massive.

The protest goes under various names. Those in attendance are urging Trump not to concede and backing so-far unproven claims of vote rigging.

TV networks have estimated that far from a million people – which was always going to be a tall order – there are several thousand tops.

But Trump has said, you guessed it, "FAKE NEWS".

He tweeted a snap from Dan Scavino, the White House deputy communications director, showing what appeared to me a much fuller crowd.

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"FoxNews and the Fake News Networks aren't showing these massive gatherings. Instead they have their reporters standing in almost empty streets. We now have SUPPRESSION BY THE PRESS. MAGA!"

.@FoxNews and the Fake News Networks aren’t showing these massive gatherings. Instead they have their reporters standing in almost empty streets. We now have SUPPRESSION BY THE PRESS. MAGA! https://t.co/RMOa4jKZwA

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 14, 2020

Fox News has said the crowds at the march are "huge".

The network said "tens of thousands" of people were in attendance.

Most TV stations have said the protest is large and has attracted "thousands".

But that is still less than the "million" White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany claimed were protesting.

Some TV stations have aired zoomed-out images which appear to show the march covering one to two blocks of the capital.

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