This is one of those moments when a picture — and audio — is not only worth a thousand words, it tells the entire story. Kamala Harris is in Greensboro, North Carolina today. Donald Trump is in Tucson, Arizona. They are both presidential candidates campaigning in swing states. And there all resemblance ends — unless you want to compare a superbowl crowd to a high school assembly. And can you guess which candidate generated which phenomenon? Watch them side by side. Seeing is believing. And bear in mind Trump’s crack from two nights ago, “She’s got zero crowd. She buses people in and pays them.” Righto, Donald. That’s what you do and you project like an Imax theater.
The ovation for Harris would have lasted longer, but she settled them down so that the work of the night could begin. As you saw and heard, the contrast is incredible. One is a superbowl, a World Series, a rock concert, something of immense cultural significance that draws that kind of a crowd.
And the other? An assembly. A town hall. A university graduation. Maybe a couple of thousand people. Now the comical part is waiting until Donald Trump gets wind of this, as wind he will surely get. Because make no mistake, the ad makers will be out in force cutting this together. This is the end of Donald Trump. He’s petering out, running out of steam, whereas Kamala Harris is a freaking political freight train.
People will tell you that rally sizes are not an indicator of who will win an election. All I can say is that I vividly remember 2008. And the magic is back. Put it this way, Trump is in the black and white portion of that famous Judy Garland movie about Dorothy and her companions, whereas Kamala is in technicolor in Oz.
That’s all that’s missing from the Greensboro rally is if Kamala could start belting out Somewhere Over the Rainbow, the freaking roof would fly off and the entire auditorium would begin to levitate. That’s the kind of energy present there this day. The 2008 magic is back. I’ve lived long enough to see this three times now in my life: once in 1960, for John F. Kennedy, again in 2008 for Barack Obama and now in 2024 for Kamala Harris.
He’s lost.
All that is left to determine, is by how much.
But we must make sure, take pleasure in voting for the only right choice.
Vote Democratic right down the ballot.
I agree with you, but as I say, we cannot get complacent. We have to make sure everybody is registered and everybody gets out to vote. We have some key down ballot races as well.
They are changing voting laws to require proof of citizenship. Passport, birth certificate, etc. know your state’s laws before you vote and have the proper documentation. They are trying to make it hard for people to vote. It’s in the constitution that you must be a citizen. Why does anyone have to bring a birth certificate with them! Just know the laws! NH law goes into effect after this election but some laws are already in place in other states!
That Trump footage AGAIN raises an issue that pisses me the hell off. There are news crews at those rallies. They have cameras. And some crew that at least have cell phone capable of taking video. Why do they almost always REFUSE to do shots that pan around the venue and not just at the start but as one of Trump’s rallies progresses? Yes, in recent months we have seen a few instances of people leaving, and a few of empty seats in venues where Trump appears. But there should be cameras, again if only people with cell phones BEHIND Trump that can show the actual crowd and pan around the venue!
Call me a CT nut and tell me I need a tinfoil hat but I think the simplest explanation is that while maybe back in 2016 Trump regularly drew quite large crowds his act got old by 2020. But he gets away with always being framed in shots on the news with a crowd behind him and close in front of the stage. News outlets have ACTIVELY engaged in an effort to help Trump sell his bullshit about crowd sizes.
Do NOT talk to me about ‘liberal media bias’ because this crap has gone on for far too long and on all the major outlets including MSNBC. The few instances we’ve seen lately of the truth of Trump’s crowds is too f**king little too f**king late!
Ohhh sore losers sound just like this, always some nefarious reason. So now they just aren’t showing the real crowd? Ok LOL
I’ve been to 2 Trump rallies and I have close friends who have been to at least 10, and they were Always full to the brim; so much so that not everyone was able to get In.
Yep me too Ursula and all three have been Democrats! My dad was a strong union man and I have followed in his footsteps including always voting a straight Democrat ticket.
The most amazing magic trick I’ve ever seen in my life is the GOP convincing people that it’s the party of the working class, the friend to the working man. That is some sleight of hand.
MAGA hate the truth, hence the little trolls in the comments below.
The Charlotte crowd was just as large, as loud, and chanted slogans spontaneously during her speech. We voters in NC have been screwed time and again with the republican white boys in Raleigh gerrymandering etc. Hell the damn Supreme Court in the state broke the law because they ruled mail in ballots need to be redone although RFK Jr missed the legal deadline to withdraw his name. It also shortens early voting. When the Duke power republican governor won a few years ago the legislature gave him broader power. When Roy Cooper won they restricted his. Kamala was right to say she’s the underdog because they phucking cheat any way they can. We need a blue tsunami to kick their ass once and for all. Our senators are crooks and traitors. A maniac is lieutenant governor running for governor. His wife cheated the state out of a huge chunk of cash. The rot goes on and on. None of this is news but it shows what we’re up against. Kamala needs to continue exactly what’s she doing right up to election day.
Scott, I live in Virginia and regularly shop in Greensboro and Winston-Salem. Several years ago my husband suggested moving to NC,, and I told him “nah, I’m good”. Only because of the gerrymandering of the repugnicans in the legislature. Great state to visit and vacation, but what they’ve done is abominable. Virginia fought that years ago and I think we’ve relearned that lesson with the creep Youngkin.
Barb…my family is mostly from SW Virginia although my mom’s parents moved to Mt.Airy before their kids were born. The fact Younkin lied his way into the governor’s seat shows no great shakes for Virginia, whereas Roy Cooper prevailed in spite of Duke power money and the legislature doing everything to stop him. Let’s hope the citizens smarten up and vote blue up and down the ballot in November.
Lovely article. I’m sad that it took from 1960 until 2008 and now 2024 to see similar excitement about the person who will represent you as an entire country put forth this kind of excitement for their president. America needs to step it up. Kamala is truly a public servant, where Trump is about himself. Which America do you want? I thought it was “We the People”
The kind of magic in 1960, 2008 and now is due to a lot of factors all coming together. One factor we have now is sheer relief. Joe got old at the wrong time. He hit it out of the park during the State Of The Union address but less than five months later he had lost something.
People are relieved to have the passing of the baton, the generational shift that Harris/Walz represents. There are other factors besides, such as how hated Trump is. I mean, if you had told me that Dick and Liz Cheney and I would be voting for the same candidate, I would have died laughing. But lo, behold, it has come to pass.
If you are in the DC area I’d like to invite you to see my exhibition now up at the American University Museum of my series, “Faces of the Republican Party.” These are portraits of Trump’s sycophants with quotes from them or verifiable facts. The show runs until December 8. If you’re out of the area, here are the images from the series: https://www.chamomileteaparty.com/posters/faces-of-the-republican-party/
This looks amazing. I wish you well. A sculptor friend of mine, now deceased, alas, named John McManus did an exhibition of his sculptures in Washington, D.C. many years ago. He got terrific reviews in the Washington Post. See if you can get an art reviewer, media reviewer to come see your work. Good luck to you now. And keep us posted, please.
“That’s all that’s missing from the Greensboro rally is if Kamala could start belting out Somewhere Over the Rainbow, the freaking roof would fly off and the entire auditorium would begin to levitate.”
Just a nitpick here, Ursula, but Judy (as Dorothy) performs that song in the “black-and-white” part of the movie–before she ever gets to Oz. (I get what you’re going for in the analogy but it doesn’t really work.)
It’s irrelevant when Dorothy performs the song in the movie. My point is that the uplifted spirit of that song permeated the crowd that night. That’s my point. JFC, you are a wet blanket, dude.
Hell…Ursula…until Joe then Kamala came along, I forgot there were rainbows. I was caught up with Captain Louie’s response to Lazlo trying to get out of nazi controlled Casablanca…it would take a miracle for you to leave Casablanca, but, unfortunately the nazis have outlawed miracles. I was more like Rick burying his broken heart in drink, (weed), who, when asked about his nationality by the gestapo chief, replied: I’m a drunkard. Thanks Kamala for getting me into rehab.
That is a great line, “I’m a drunkard.” It gets quoted a lot in A.A. meetings because there’s a lot of truth to that. It’s a nationality.
she still hasn’t suggested how she’s going to pull us out of the disaster the last three and a half years have been under her and Biden. I’m sure her handlers will come up with something.
In the dimension I live in the past three and a half years have been great. I personally have saved quite a bit on prescription drugs. I used to have to shell out at least $80 a month for prescriptions that now cost me between $6 and $9. Plus I don’t have to watch my country be mocked because of that orange asshole being in the White House.
This might not be the blog for you to come and hang out in.