Donald Trump Set To Encounter More Empty Seats in Texas as History Tour Continues
Donald Trump and Bill O'Reilly have still been unable to sell out the venues for their two upcoming "History Tour" events in Texas, although they do not appear to have been undersold as much as their dates in Florida.
The former president and ex-Fox News presenter are set to appear at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday, December 18, followed by the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Sunday as part of their joint speaking tour.
Ahead of this weekend's events, Ticketmaster shows that there still are more than 200 tickets left for the event at the American Airlines Center, with slightly fewer tickets still available at the venue in Houston.
Ahead of his visit, Colin Allred, a Democratic Texas congressman, tweeted that Trump will be appearing in Dallas this weekend to "again spread his lies and misinformation."
Allred said: "North Texans are welcoming to just about anyone, but no one should be fooled. We have to protect our democracy or lose it."
The tour has already not gotten off to the best start. Photos taken from The History Tour event at the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on December 11 showed large sections of empty seats in the arena.
The Orlando Sentinel reported that the venue was so far off being a sellout that the top level was closed off and ticket holders for the upper levels were "upgraded" to the lower bowl.
The Sentinel later reported that the event at the Amway Center in Orlando, which holds 8,700 people, sold just 5,406 tickets.
Records show that a total of 6,201 people went through the turnstiles at the arena, with the additional 800-odd people in attendance believed to have been given free tickets for the event.
"I guess it does show that there's a limit to his [Trump's] popularity," Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida, told The Sentinel.
"He's still influential and still popular within the Republican Party. But a lot of his fans apparently were not willing to pay 100 bucks a crack to hear him talk for two hours."
Speaking to Newsweek, Joshua Scacco, an associate professor of political communication at the University of South Florida, said it doesn't matter that The History Tour is not a complete sell out as it will still prove to be a lucrative money spinner for Trump as he ponders a possible 2024 presidential campaign.
"He's picked Florida and Texas, two places that are very important in terms of raising money for a [potential] Republican candidate, and also two very GOP friendly places, as opposed to going to a place such as California," Scacco said.
"They're picking from the audiences in friendly places where they can also raise money. It's a form of keeping yourself relevant, and trying to gain some sort of attention."
In a July statement, O'Reilly said that the tour has already grossed $7 million as many of the expensive VIP tickets, which were going for thousands of dollars each, had sold well.
Trump has been contacted for comment.
