“We have big rallies. You know, we have 50,000,” the GOP candidate said Sunday in Pennsylvania. “Interestingly, during the debates she said, 'Oh, oh, and your debates aren't really attractive, and everyone leaves early.' So then I go, I go, because when someone says something, I think you have to refute it, right. I said, “No.” “There's never a vacant seat in my debates, and no one ever leaves early.” Nobody ever leaves early.” (I assume by “debates” he meant “rallies.”)

A few days earlier, he said virtually the same thing at an event in Arizona. Referring to Harris, Trump stated, “When that bastard said during the debate, 'Oh, your rallies aren't well attended and people are leaving,' then they don't leave.” He went on to say that “nobody leaves early,” adding adding: “This has never happened before.”

In other words, nearly eight weeks after Harris put him on the spot with his speeches about his campaign events, Trump is still thinking about it, talking about it and trying to refute it.

Part of the problem, of course, is that this is truly pathetic. But what's equally remarkable is that the former president is simply and demonstrably wrong: His recent events have shown all sorts of empty seats and shots of people heading for the exits during his speech.

I've lost track of how many videos I've seen from people lately Leaving Trump's rallies during his speechin addition to events where there are all sorts of free places.

I'm hardly the only one who noticed it. The New York Times reported that the GOP nominee “isn’t quite the candidate he once was. And neither is his audience.”

“During the final week of his campaign, Mr. Trump at times bragged about the size of crowds in arenas that were anything but packed to the rafters,” the article continued. “And when he insists there are thousands more waiting outside, that’s often not the case.”

At some point in late September, Republicans even went so far as to argue that people shouldn't believe when they see footage of people leaving one of his events early because they just seem to be leave early.

It's hard not to wonder whether Harris imagined in advance of the debate how much that one line would unsettle Trump for the rest of the 2024 race.