Trump Attacks Reporters Covering Empty GOP Convention Seats: ‘Horrible Human Beings’

President Donald Trump lashed out at journalists reporting on empty seats at his Republican midterm convention Thursday, branding them “fake, horrible, horrible human beings.”

“No empty seats!” Trump announced to the crowd in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday. “The fake news, they searched the arena. There are thousands of people outside. They searched the arena for a seat. That’s why last night I said, ‘Please, don’t get up to go to the bathroom! Just sit.'”

According to The Wall Street Journal, though, on day one of the two-day event, “There were no lines outside of American Airlines Center… The arena’s upper deck was nearly empty. The middle tier, only slightly fuller.”

“They’re fake people,” Trump said of reporters covering the matter. “They’re fake, horrible, horrible human beings. Not all. Not all. You have some fine journalists. Not too many — to be honest with you.”

“We were packed last night,” the president reiterated. “We had thousands of people outside.”

Citing what he called “full” boxes in the arena on Thursday, Trump motioned to the crowd to look for themselves.

Seemingly noticing an area that wasn’t populated to his standards, the president admitted, “I’ve got to do a little bit better in the back right there. I don’t like that little bit of skin that’s showing. I’m not happy with it. That’s not good. I shouldn’t have looked up there! No, but look at this arena. This is a big arena.”

In addition to the attendance dispute, the convention’s opening night drew a relatively modest television audience.

Nielsen data showed Fox News, which aired Trump’s speech while CNN and MS NOW did not, averaged 2.5 million viewers from 9 to 11 p.m. ET. While still easily beating MS NOW’s 1 million and CNN’s 441,000, Trump’s 2.50 million viewers in the 10 p.m. hour still fell slightly below the 2.51 million Gutfeld! averaged in August.

Watch above on Fox News.

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