Trump Rally Photo Is From 2020, Not Recent Wisconsin Rally, as Social Media Posts Claim – FactCheck.org

Quick Take

Former President Donald Trump held a rally in Wisconsin on Aug. 5. Posts on social media circulated a photo to claim that the recent Trump rally in Wisconsin attracted a “massive” crowd. But the photo was from a previous Trump rally and was shared by Eric Trump in 2020.  

Full Story 

On Aug. 5, former President Donald Trump held a “Save America” rally at the Waukesha County Fair grounds in Wisconsin to campaign for Tim Michels, a Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor, and others.

Posts on social media are sharing a photo online to claim that the recent rally held in Wisconsin drew a “massive” crowd. But the image shared in the posts is not from the recent Trump rally.

The photo shows a large group of people standing outside, many wearing red hats. Some people were sitting in stands with American flags on top. In the corner of the image, there are screens that read, “THE BEST IS YET TO COME” — a Trump campaign theme in 2020. 

A Facebook post shared the photo with the caption, “This is from last night in Wisconsin. MASSIVE!” The post received more than 1.7 thousand likes and 1.6 thousand shares. 

Waynedupree.com, a website run by conservative political commentator Wayne Dupree, shared an article with the headline, “No, This Isn’t a Photo From a 2016 Trump Rally … It’s From LAST NIGHT in Wisconsin.”

But the photo is not from 2016 or 2022.

By doing a reverse image search, we found that Donald Trump’s middle son, Eric Trump, tweeted the photo on Nov. 16, 2020. He used the image to falsely claim that the turnout at his father’s campaign rallies was proof that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged.” 

Eric Trump’s tweet and the photo were featured in several news articles in 2020.

Dan Scavino, a former White House communications aide, first tweeted the photo on Nov. 2, 2020 — the day before the election — with the caption, “WHAT A NIGHT IN WISCONSIN! Get out and VOTE #MAGA tomorrow!” 

The photo was taken at the Kenosha Regional Airport in Kenosha, Wisconsin. 

As we said above, the photo shared in the social media posts shows individuals standing and some sitting in stands in a fairly large outdoor area.

The location of the Trump rally held in Wisconsin on Aug. 5 had several key distinctions — including stands with “Save America” signs, “Save America” signs in several other places and the fair’s white tent in the background. None of those elements is pictured in the image shared with the recent social media claims and photos taken by media outlets during the 2020 rally.

Save America is the name of a political action committee created by Trump after the 2020 election.

Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.

Sources 

C-Span. “Former President Trump Holds Rally in Wisconsin.” 5 Aug 2022.

Garrett, Alexandra. “Donald Trump Performed Worse With Voters In Counties Where He Held Large Rallies.” Newsweek. 2 Dec 2022.     

Jolles, Ward. “At Waukesha Trump rally, supporters split over upcoming GOP primary.” WKOW 27. 5 Aug 2022.

Moye, David. “Eric Trump Can’t Accept That Rally Attendance And Votes Are Different.” HuffPost.16 Nov 2020. 

Opoien, Jessie (@jessieopie). “Former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman is delivering the invocation at the Trump rally. Gableman is leading a taxpayer-funded review of Wisconsin’s 2020 presidential election.” Twitter. 5 Aug 2022.