Lisa Fagan, spokesperson for the city of Wildwood, New Jersey, reportedly told The Associated Press that based off her own observations on the scene Saturday, having seen "dozens" of other events in the same space, she estimated the crowd represented between 80,000 and 100,000 attendees.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-New Jersey) described the beachfront event as the largest political gathering in state history.
Though local outlets claim the crowd was only around 12,000, video from the event reflects Trump's popularity in the deep blue state, where the former president officially lost to Joe Biden in 2020 by double digits but intends to win this year.
"There's no figure in American politics like Donald Trump," notes Gary Bauer of the Campaign for Working Families, which is dedicated to electing more pro-family, pro-life, America-first conservatives to office. "Everybody remembers his previous campaigns, and he's always been able to get these huge crowds."
But at the end of the day, he says the candidate with the best ground game will ultimately prevail.
"I don't want to be the skunk at the wedding, but I feel an obligation to do so," Bauer tells AFN. "We have had a bunch of elections in multiple states all over the country since 2020 and since 2022, and we're not winning those elections. So, whatever the crowds are in multiple states, we still don't seem to have the ground game that gets those people to show up."
As of now, he believes the Left and its deep state allies are "on the edge of panic" and, like a cornered animal, they will do anything to stop Trump and the MAGA movement.
