Kathrine Frich
She is not the only one having a hard time filling up the seats.
Packing out a venue used to be the easiest trick in politics.
When a famous family name was on the poster, crowds lined up around the block just to get through the doors.
Lately, though, empty chairs have started showing up at both ends of the ticket price scale.
Priced at $2,499
According to the Irish Star, Lara Trump is having a hard time selling out an upcoming gathering for 100 women at Mar-a-Lago. The 43-year-old daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump recently turned to her Instagram story to plug the November 13 Leadership Luncheon, where remaining seats cost $2,499 apiece.
According to the event page cited by the Irish Star, the afternoon is billed as “A distinguished luncheon with Lara Trump and special guest Tudor Dixon at Mar-a-Lago, designed for those shaping the next chapter of American life, business, culture, and conservative leadership.”
Held in the White and Gold Ballroom, the two-hour meal features Dixon, a breast cancer survivor, podcast host, and 2022 Republican candidate for governor in Michigan.
Organizers divided tickets into three tiers. While 25 Gold VIP packages with a Four Seasons hotel stay and 25 discounted early access passes sold out, the standard $2,499 WHITE Ticket is still up for grabs.
According to the website, that tier “includes access to the exclusive Mar-a-Lago Club and an elegant leadership luncheon with Lara Trump and distinguished guests on Friday, November 13. Specific check-in and location details will be provided after purchase.”
Empty arena rows
Her struggle to fill the ballroom mirrors a problem facing her father-in-law on the campaign trail.
According to the Irish Star, photographs from the president’s Monday rally for Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith at Crossroads Arena in Corinth, Mississippi, showed rows of open chairs.
Posting a snapshot of the gaps on X, journalist Aaron Rupar wrote: “Empty seats are seen as Trump speaks in Mississippi tonight.”
Social media users also mocked the bored faces in the crowd, with one viewer calling them “Enraptured” and another writing: “At least the people who are there look like they’re having the time of their lives.”
The president has bristled at turnout coverage all month. After New York Times reporter Katie Rogers noted that “several areas of an upper deck were empty” during an October 3 event at Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio, Trump fumed on Truth Social.
Insisting the venue was packed and his rallies are “HOTTER than ever”, he wrote: “The New York Times, and many other Artificial Media Outlets, should be arrested for their dishonesty and disservice to our Country.”
