So is this meant to imply he couldn't possibly know the crowd size?

Like, at no point in the evening was he ANYWHERE but behind the glass? He like, popped up from a hole in the stage, like at a high-tech concert, and then he popped back down into it at the end, never having been given a chance to see anything but this particular view?

I can see, though, that as he was speaking, his audience was just a blur and the glare from those lights on the water would have been dazzling.

That's probably not glass, actually, but ballistic plastic. He is kept behind such screens for safety reasons, in case some radical looney-toon takes a shot at him. So, I imagine he was behind it pretty much the entire time, as directed by the Secret Service.

Presidents don't get exposed to the public much these days, and only in situations where everyone who comes near him has been thoroughly screened for weapons, etc.

I imagine he came on stage there from behind, and probably was never exposed directly to the crowd other than behind that ballistic barrier. So, he may never have seen whatever crowd showed up.

Obama gave speeches to crowds 4 times that size and he didn't need either.

I'll bet he hates this picture as soon as he sees it and tweets something nasty about the WP

Supposedly Trump giving his speech was at the same time of day. So why the floodlights and the rain when the crowd shot doesn’t show rain, or the need for lighting?

Maybe it’s just me.

... otherwise when they broadcast Chump standing at the podium it would be too dark and hard to see. Even though people there in person can see him just fine, the cameras require the extra lighting.

This photo shows what the photo shows.

No need to get snarky.

It was a neutral statement. Open to interpretation. Each person will see it differently.

and they showed a shot from a camera that was located behind him. You could clearly see the bald spot on his head, but the view wasn't anywhere near as dark as this picture makes it appear. I could, in fact, see the crowd. That looks like some trick photography with a digital camera. But there were raindrops on the screen for sure, like a windshield that needs the wipers turned on.

Or ... reduced the F-stop... one of those photography terms. It's auto white-balancing in a digital camera for contrast. Lenses compensate somehow when sunlight is aimed into the lens, it lowers the light in and (I think) increases the exposure so the foreground isn't just a dark silhouette.

Let's be sure to get that done.