New York, New York - Donald Trump has begun noticing that not many people are showing up to protest his historic hush money criminal trial, and he is now pushing a bizarre lie to explain it.

After leaving the New York County Criminal Court building on Tuesday for Day 5 of the trial, Trump shared a rant to his Truth Social platform, where he claimed his MAGA fans are being kept from showing their support for him.

"Thousands of people were turned away from the Courthouse in Lower Manhattan by steel stanchions and police, literally blocks from the tiny side door from where I enter and leave," Trump claimed. "It is an armed camp to keep people away."

Prior to the beginning of the trial last week, Trump had made efforts to rally support from his MAGA base in social media posts and a fundraising email that had the subject line "72 HOURS UNTIL ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE!"

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Trump has since been adamantly calling on his fans to come out and protest for him. On Monday, prior to attending Day 4, he shared a post claiming that while pro-Palestinian protesters are allowed to "do whatever they want," his supporters, whom he says "truly love our country," are being kept from being able to "peacefully protest."

He went on to urge fans of his to "RALLY BEHIND MAGA. SAVE OUR COUNTRY!"

His calls to action have garnered disappointing results, as the amount of protesters has only gotten smaller with each day, and it is clearly bothering the former president.

TAG24 News was on the scene on April 15, Day 1 of the trial, and the scene couldn't have been more different from the narrative Trump is now claiming.

Local authorities have set up barricades around Collect Pond Park, a large courtyard located directly across the street from the courthouse, which is being used as a common area for protesters, media, and curious bystanders.

The park has been divided into two sections – one for pro- and the other for anti-Trump protesters – for safety, but anyone is allowed to float between them.

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Despite there being a large scheduled rally that day, only a small handful of MAGA supporters showed up late, and they were quickly outnumbered by members of the media.

It's hard to say exactly why MAGA fans are not showing up in droves as they have in the past, but many critics believe his base has lost much of its enthusiasm in the wake of the January 6 Capitol riots and the criminal charges that have been brought against attendees since.

As Trump is required by law to attend every day of the trial, he is unable to continue his habit of holding large campaign rallies, which he uses to flaunt the loyalty and dedication of his base.