Trump Ramps Up Appearances in Race for White House
Former President Donald Trump is racing toward Nov. 5 by upping his appearances and rallies. Trump has held 26 campaign events this month with a majority of them being rallies. This surpasses the 21 events he did in…
Former President Donald Trump is racing toward Nov. 5 by upping his appearances and rallies.
Trump has held 26 campaign events this month with a majority of them being rallies. This surpasses the 21 events he did in June and July combined, according to an NBC News analysis of his schedule.
The increase in appearances started in August as he held 19 events.
Some Republicans were concerned Trump allowed Vice President Kamala Harris to get in more appearances when she kicked off her campaign by traveling the country in August after she took over for President Joe Biden as the Republican nominee.
It’s now a race against time for Trump as he battles for votes and the Electoral College tallies.
“They’re double-timing it because they know they got screwed with this 100-day window,” Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist, said. “Basically, you’re fighting for inches on the electoral map. Nobody knows exactly what’s going to put one campaign over the other at the end of the day.”
Trump participated in two rallies over the weekend, both in battleground states — Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. During both rallies, he hurled personal attacks at Harris by questioning her mental fitness and calling her “mentally impaired.”
At the rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, he said Harris should be “impeached and prosecuted” for her actions and policies regarding the border with Mexico.
Trump himself is pushing for more appearances. One campaign official said Trump, who was supposed to have a light Sunday, said, “We got to do something,” leading to the rally in Erie.
He is not slowing down the rest of the week either.
On Monday, he travels to Georgia another battleground state, as it recovers from Hurricane Helene.
While it may seem altruistic for politicians to visit areas affected by storms, it pulls resources from the communities trying to recover.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, will not go to Trump’s Monday event, according to an aide.
Trump is expected on Saturday to return to Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of the first assassination attempt against him in July.
Both Trump and Harris have received an increase in security while campaigning after the two assassination attempts on Trump.
In the final month leading to the election, Trump is expected to attend two to three rallies per week plus a couple of smaller events focusing on various policies, stops at local stores and town halls, a Trump campaign official said.
“Nobody in the game of Politics works harder than President Trump especially in the fourth quarter,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign national press secretary, told NBC News in a statement.
“President Trump and Senator Vance will continue to outpace Harris and Walz in the media, and bring their winning message to make America wealthy, safe, and strong again to voters across the country,” she said.