MS NOW’s Nicolle Wallace on Thursday said President Donald Trump’s kickoff for America’s 250th birthday celebration was “off to a very rocky start” as attendees left halfway through his kickoff speech.
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“Not a great look, though, for a guy who worries so much about crowd size,” Wallace said as she shared video from The Bulwark, a conservative “never Trump” organization, showing people leaving the rally on the National Mall Wednesday night with Trump still speaking in the background:
Crowds flock towards the exit in the middle of Trump’s speech. pic.twitter.com/bM3DPhsM4M
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) June 25, 2026
Trump, who has always been sensitive about his crowd size and people leaving his events early, posted not just once but twice to claim the event was “packed to the brim.”
“Everybody stayed right until the end of my Speech,” Trump wrote on Truth Social despite evidence to the contrary.
But The Bulwark’s Jared Poland, who recorded the video of people leaving, also posted a photo of someone snoozing in the grass during Trump’s speech:
Trump’s speech is literally putting people to sleep: pic.twitter.com/5iL7OcwcWn
— Jared Poland (@Jared_Poland) June 25, 2026
“A lot of people got their picture of Trump and headed for the gates,” Poland told Wallace.
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She then rolled a clip of Jimmy Fallon mocking the event. The late-night host said the rally, which featured a military flyover, Lee Greenwood singing “God Bless The USA” and a Trump speech, felt very familiar.
“Even Trump’s biggest fans are like, ‘Is this a repeat?’” Fallon cracked. “Because I feel like I’ve seen this before.”
Wallace called the joke “remarkable,” given that Fallon tends to shy away from politics.
“This is where it hurts the most if you’re Donald Trump,” she pointed out. “A repeat, a rehash, not so A-list.”
Wallace also aired a clip of Trump begging fans to attend his July 4 speech next week. Trump said if there were just two empty seats, the “fake news” would claim “he didn’t fill out the arena.” That line made Wallace laugh out loud.
“The idea that we’re the problem?” she said. “He seems to be the problem when it comes to empty seats.”
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See more of her conversation with Poland below:
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