After Melania Trump’s much-talked about speech at the Republican National Convention, it seems that attendees had had enough, leaving the convention floor in a mass exodus.
Only one problem: more people were scheduled to speak after Donald Trump’s wife.
Sen. Joni Ernst, a veteran and the first female elected to statewide office in Iowa, was one of the people who spoke to a nearly-empty arena.
Trump gives GOP rising star Joni Ernst the empty arena slot on convention opening night pic.twitter.com/1zf4AE8J3f
— Alan Rappeport (@arappeport) July 19, 2016
The folks running the convention may get a complaint from Joni Ernst's staff. Folks starting leaving post Melania pic.twitter.com/IGpviIBhNu
— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) July 19, 2016
Making matters worse, many of the previous speeches in the evening ran long, resulting in Ernst being booted past 11 p.m. and out of the prime-time news slot.
Twitter reacted strongly to the photos of the empty stadium:
This is my 8th convention. Have never seen one empty out like this. Normally they try to wrap with the end of prime time.
— ana marie c?x (@anamariecox) July 19, 2016
RNC officials weren’t happy that Ernst had been pushed back, and some tied this snafu to larger evidence that the Trump campaign is disorganized.
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It's so puzzling that a Trump event reveals disorganized thinking and poor planning.
— Jessica Cannon (@JHCannon5) July 19, 2016
Asked an Iowa delegate about Joni Ernst getting bumped out of prime time for that speech: "Effing brutal," was response.
— Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) July 19, 2016
One user did point out that by the time Ernst’s speech finally rolled around, attendees were too tired to stay and watch.
@NoahCRothman almost midnight, speeches still going, and most had been at the convention since 11:00am.
— Nathan Cox (@NathanDCox) July 19, 2016
In her speech, Ernst criticized President Obama’s weak foreign policy and argued for a stronger stance against ISIS, noting that Donald Trump “will not hesitate to call radical Islamic terrorism by its name.”
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