POLITICS
Confused about 2021 Cullman rally, Donald Trump claims he broke Elvis Presley’s record crowd at Alabama ‘state fair’

Updated: Mar. 18, 2024, 9:01 p.m. | Published: Mar. 18, 2024, 7:35 p.m.


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They turned out by thousands to see Elvis Presley perform at Mississippi Alabama State Fair in Tupelo in 1956. File

By Howard Koplowitz | hkoplowitz@al.com

The Donald dethroned The King? ... During one of his signature tangents while addressing a rally in Ohio over the weekend, Donald Trump claimed to have broken Elvis Presley’s attendance record at the Alabama State Fair, despite neither man making an appearance at the festival.

Trump appeared to have confused his 2021 rally in Cullman, where he stumped for Mo Brooks’ campaign for U.S. Senate, with a visit to the fair, which never took place. He told the crowd in Vandalia, Ohio of Brooks asking him to campaign for him in Alabama when he made the attendance claim.

“Mo Brooks got up. He said, ‘Sir, I’d really appreciate it.’ And we went to the state fair – 68,000 people showed up at the state fair,” Trump said. ... “And an old guy came out, it looked like he was about 103. He said, ‘You know, you did something I never thought would happen in Alabama.’ He said, ‘I’ve been at this place for 60 years, 70 years -- a long time -- and you just broke the attendance record of a man named Elvis Presley.’ Can you believe that? He said, ‘You just broke it, man,” the former president continued.

Trump never made an appearance at the Alabama State Fair, which occurs in Birmingham. ... And neither did Presley. ... The King of Rock performed at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show in September 1956, but the event did not take place in Cullman. Or Birmingham. Or Alabama. ... Presley took the stage in Tupelo, Mississippi. ... Trump’s Cullman appearance also didn’t get a crowd of 68,000.

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