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By James Bickerton
News Reporter
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President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton held rival rallies on Friday in Florida and Mississippi respectively, as both parties deploy their big hitters just four days before the midterm elections.
Trump addressed a rally at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach while Clinton spoke in Tupelo at the Link Center in support of longshot Mississippi Democratic Senate candidate Scott Colom.
The events come as both Republicans and Democrats are trying to mobilize their voters ahead of Tuesday’s elections. Democrats are hoping to flip both chambers of Congress in a move that would dramatically impede Trump’s freedom of action during the final two years of his second term.
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Trump has focused heavily on the attendance at his rivals events in recent weeks, and raised the subject again on Friday.
Newsweek contacted President Trump, via the White House by email outside of regular office hours.
A Clinton spokesperson said, "President Clinton was making the case for Scott Colom. Trump was making excuses for senseless wars and nonsensical tariffs that leave Americans paying more for gas and groceries. President Clinton was on offense. Trump was on defense. That’s the story."
Florida and Mississippi Rallies
According to The Daytona Beach News-Journal Trump’s rally in the city was attended by “a capacity crowd of more than 9,000.” Photographs published by the outlet show packed stands as the president delivered his address.
The Ocean Center in Daytona has a capacity of 9,300 according to its official website, with “more than 200,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting space.”
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On X the conservative Right Side Broadcasting Network shared a one-minute video showing packed seating on four sides surrounding the podium at the Daytona rally. They commented: “THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA WON’T SHOW YOU THIS!
“ABSOLUTELY PACKED arena in Daytona Beach, Florida, as THOUSANDS of American patriots turn out for President Trump! The energy is UNREAL!”
Trump supporter Benny Johnson also shared footage from the rally commenting: “The media keeps saying ‘MAGA is dead’… I’m at the Trump rally right now in Daytona Beach and it’s PACKED to the rafters.”
Conservative commentator Eric Daugherty posted footage of Trump being applauded as he arrived to make his speech and said there were “THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE” still waiting outside the venue at this point. This has not been independently confirmed by Newsweek.
Clinton’s rally in Tupelo was attended by “roughly 400 people” according to Mississippi Today. Local outlet WTVA reported the venue, the Link Center, had a capacity of “approximately 400” as well as “additional overflow space available for 100 people.” It is unclear whether the overflow space was used for the rally.
WTVA reporter Ross Adams shared a video from the rally on X showing Clinton addressing a cheering crowd on a theatre like stage. He added: “The man famous for shaking every hand in the room could be here all night as @BillClinton makes his way to a crowd in Tupelo, following a wide ranging speech criticizing the Trump administration and boosting @scott_colom’s long shot bid for an historic upset in just days.”
Photographs from the event taken by a Getty photographer showed Clinton speaking in front of a large Mississippi flag, flanked with American flags, while one supporter held up a placard reading “MISSISSIPPI FORWARD.”
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What Was Said
During Trump’s rally the president accused the media of downplaying attendance at his rallies commenting: “They never like mentioning crowd side because crowd size means success and they, the fake news, do not want us to succeed.”
Trump said Tuesday’s polls will be “the most important midterm elections ever” and said he was campaigning to “stop America-hating communists from taking over the United States Congress.”
Meanwhile, Clinton advocated for Mississippi Democratic Senate candidate Colom commenting: “I’m supporting Scott because he will honestly give you his opinion, and if you disagree, he’ll have a conversation with you. And if you can change his mind, he’ll change his mind.
“You can’t put MAGA first. You have to put Mississippi first.”
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Colom also gave an address in which he focused on the cost of living. The Democratic candidate said: “They were promised lower grocery prices. That’s what I’m going to fight for.
“That’s my message to them. I’m going to give you what you were promised in 2024. You were promised no more endless wars. I’m going to give you no more endless wars.”
Rally Attendance Controversy
A number of politicians have made reference to the size of their rallies, or those of their opponents, ahead of the midterm elections.
On Thursday Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico told CNN his Republican rival Ken Paxton was “canceling rallies because nobody is showing up.”
The comment came after Paxton’s team cancelled a scheduled rally on November 1 in El Paso citing scheduling and logistics.
During a rally in Perry, Georgia, on Oct. 24 Trump took aim at the crowd size attracted by former President Barack Obama during a rally in Michigan.
He said: “You know I saw Barack Hussein Obama was in Michigan and the place was empty. And they were saying, ‘Oh this is a large crowd coming the people are tricking through.’ They don’t talk about my crowds, they never talk about them.”
Trump has a record of including Obama’s middle name when mentioning the former president, in what critics argue is an attempt to make him sound more Islamic.
Obama’s Michigan rally was held at the Cass Technical High School which has a 3,000 person capacity gym, with room for around 4,300, including overflow areas, for major events such as political rallies. Photographs from the event showed a good attendance and one commentator reported there was an overflow crowd.
Update, 10/31/26, 10:39 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a clarified date for event cancellation.
Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Edward Pearcey.
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