Do You Have to Pay to Go to a Trump Rally? The Cost of Attendance May Surprise You
At donor rallies and other special events where the point itself is to bring in money rather than votes, tickets can be costly.
Published Oct. 31 2024, 4:34 p.m. ET
In just a few short days, the United States will have either a President Kamala Harris or a President Donald Trump, version 2.0. Either way, the long and grueling election cycle is almost over, and the die will be cast one way or another. As the last final days wind down, both candidates are pushing hard to drum up the votes of any last-minute undecided voters and shore up support among their constituents.
Trump rallies are a known spectacle and entertainment event, bringing people from all walks of life together to see the charismatic former President make his case. But what does it cost to attend a Trump rally? Here's the scoop.
Do you have to pay to get into a Trump rally?
Donald Trump has been known to capitalize on any and everything related to his presidential runs, in a move that means no coins are left on the table.
Whether it's Trump trading cards, commemorative coins, or MAGA merch, Trump and his team find a way to wring money from every available avenue. So are rallies one of those cash cows? Surprisingly, no. For the most part, his rallies are free to the public.
But there are certainly exceptions. At donor rallies and other special events where the point itself is to bring in money rather than votes, tickets can be costly. In 2016, Trump had a brief run of charging $200 per ticket for his rallies, although this has been the exception rather than the rule. VIP ticket prices may vary.
Trump makes one final push before Election Day.
Speaking of rallies, Trump is currently pushing hard to get in as many last-minute votes as he can. Like most presidential campaigns, Trump and his team are identifying the places where his support is the most uncertain and looking to connect with voters on the ground there.
At Trump rallies, the former President is known to rant, rave, get off topic, and dive into controversial topics that most people would be canceled within moments of uttering. Yet somehow, Trump's crude approach and devil-may-care speeches seem to be the thing people love most about him rather than a liability.
Yet as Trump's campaign winds down alongside Kamala's, it's worth noting that this could be the last of Trump rallies as we know them. The former President has said he won't run in 2028 if he loses this year. That means that whether you love or hate his rallies, they're almost over for good.
Of course, that doesn't mean Trump won't occasionally hold rallies while in office should he reclaim the Presidency in November. Trump's love for ranting in front of a rapt audience is well-documented. But with just a few days left of Trump campaign rallies specifically, this is the end of a political era.