MICHAEL SMERCONISH: In 2016, Trump drew thousands to rallies
all across the country.
Last week was pretty extraordinary, though.
He brought in an estimated 50,000 supporters
to a tiny town in South Carolina, Pickens,
where the population is just over 3,000 people.
He drew a crowd 20 times that number.
This was a striking contrast to who
is thought to be his biggest political rival
at the moment, Governor Ron DeSantis, who held an event.
In that same state last week, DeSantis only
bringing in enough enthusiasm to fill
a local activity center, in north Augusta,
in South Carolina.
In 2016, Trump won the state with over 30%
during a very crowded primary season.
What makes this week's crowd size even more shocking
is that he's now running against two locals for the GOP ticket,
former South Carolina Governor Nikki [? Haley ?]
and current Senator Tim Scott.
Both recently held events of their own in South Carolina,
couldn't come close to drawing what Trump drew.
Even though that's not enough to make the state waver
in its support as Trump makes his third bid
for the presidency, he's already secured endorsements
from the state's governor, three congressmen,
and its senior senator.
Despite his legal woes, Trump is heading
the Republican race somewhat effortlessly,
and the money doesn't lie.
CNN reports that the former president
has nearly doubled his $18.8 million
from the beginning of 2023.
His campaign earned $35 million in donations in the most
recent quarter, and it's not a matter of too much competition,
as some have proposed, as in what if the field narrows?
Well, even in a narrow two-candidate field,
NBC says Trump beats DeSantis 60 to 36.