A video of a CNN reporter discussing former President Donald Trump's “pretty empty” rally in Detroit on Friday has leaked online.

With less than three weeks until Election Day, Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have cracked down on the swing states that will decide the election, including Michigan.

CNN reporter Alayna Treene appeared on Friday evening Erin Burnett OutFrontspoke from the Detroit rally about 40 minutes before the former president took the stage.

“We’re in this pretty big venue. You can't really tell where you are from, Erin. You can see the crowd right behind me. But behind the camera, where I'm talking, it's actually pretty empty.” “They couldn't fill that void,” Treene said.

Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said Newsweek On Saturday morning, “the venue was filled to the maximum possible capacity in accordance with established regulations. The crowd was energized and roaring as President Trump delivered his speech.”

A snippet of Treene's reporting was shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday evening by a senior digital editor at liberal news site MeidasTouch, known as Acyn. The clip has received 841,100 views as of Saturday morning.

The account MeidasTouch

Former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, a Republican and frequent Trump critic, laughed at the clip and wrote on X: “Haha…times a million infinities.”

“This is BRUTAL for Trump. A CNN reporter at Trump's rally in Detroit just confirmed that the venue is EMPTY,” tweeted YouTuber and political commentator Harry Sisson, a Democrat.

Kamala's Wins, an X account that supports Harris, tweeted: “CNN just released a stunning new report that Donald Trump's rally tonight is empty. Holy cow.”

The size of crowds at rallies has become a topic of conversation during the election. Harris' campaign team has repeatedly mocked the size of Trump rallies while boasting about the high turnout at the vice president's events.

Meanwhile, Trump asserts that he will attract more visitors to his rallies. At one point, he said Harris used artificial intelligence (AI) in a photo to expand the crowd at a rally in Detroit.

Referring to a photo taken at that rally, Trump wrote on social media in August: “Did anyone notice Kamala cheating at the airport? There was no one on the plane and she did it 'AI' and showed a huge 'crowd' of so called followers BUT THEY DIDN'T EXIST!”

The former president also said the large crowd at Harris' rally was “fake,” adding, “She should be disqualified because creating a fake image constitutes election interference.” Anyone who does this will cheat at EVERYTHING!”

A Harris campaign official said Newsweek At the time: “I can confirm that the photo was taken by Harris campaign staff and was not altered in any way by the AI.”

How are the candidates doing in Michigan?

Harris and Trump are neck and neck in Michigan. The vice president has a slight lead of less than a percentage point at 47.6 percent compared to Trump's 47.1 percent, according to polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight's polling averages for the state.

How are the candidates doing nationwide?

Harris' lead over Trump nationally has grown, according to some polls. According to FiveThirtyEight, she is 2.1 points ahead of the former president in the national polls (48.4 percent to 46.3 percent).