The contrast with Joe Biden’s rallies is striking. On Thursday, August 8, there were more than 14,000 ecstatic spectators waiting in the stands in Philadelphia for the new Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and her newly appointed running mate Tim Walz. Since Joe Biden was sidelined in the race for the White House on July 21, Kamala Harris, the current Vice President of the United States, has attracted crowds rivaling those at Donald Trump’s rallies.
A disrupted dynamic, hoped for by the Democrats, and worrying for the Republican camp, which until now thought it was the only one capable of bringing together such crowds.
Occupying the media space
To counter the “Harris” wave and try to regain control over his rival, the thunderous billionaire is redoubling his efforts to occupy the media space and social networks. Seeking to reposition himself at the center of the campaign, the former president held a rare press conference on Thursday, August 8, from Mar-a-Lago, his luxurious residence in Florida. The majority of the conference was limited to virulently contesting the “enthusiasm” provoked by the entry into the race of Kamala Harris, 59, and her new running mate Tim Walz, the 60-year-old governor of Minnesota, who were on Tuesday and Wednesday in pivotal states that could decide the fate of the presidential election: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan.
The press conference was Trump’s first public appearance since announcing Tim Walz’s campaign entry last week, as the Republican has yet to hold a rally this week. He accused his Democratic rival of not being able to do the same. “She can’t do an interview, she’s barely competent,” he said. Democrats “talk about enthusiasm. I’m telling you the enthusiasm is in the Republican Party and with me as the candidate,” he said.
However, he has promised a “peaceful transfer” of power if the November presidential election in which he is a candidate is “honest”, while his Democratic rivals worry that he will not recognize, as in 2020, the result of the vote in the event of defeat.
The former Republican president has proposed no fewer than three televised debates next month on Fox News, ABC and NBC, the first of which has already been confirmed for September 10. Initially planned between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, it had been jeopardized by the Republican’s statements, who had at one time suggested that he might not attend. “I learned that Donald Trump has finally committed to debate with me on September 10,” Kamala Harris reacted Thursday. “I look forward to it,” she added, without commenting on the two other proposed dates.
Mobilize your support on the networks
Present on all fronts, Donald Trump also floods social networks, through other controversial and widely followed figures, such as Elon Musk. On X (formerly Twitter, from which Donald Trump was banned), the “Center for Countering Digital Hate” has thus identified 50 posts referring to the elections, published since January by this supporter of Donald Trump and identified by disinformation specialists as false or misleading. With 193 million subscribers on X, Elon Musk, who bought the social network in 2022 for 44 billion dollars, claims for example that the Democrats encourage illegal immigration to “import voters”.
Elon Musk was also heavily criticized for sharing a manipulated video of US Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in late July, which garnered millions of views and was later presented as “satire.” The chatbot named “Grok” on the social network X is also accused of spreading false information about the elections.
But social media is not always in favor of the Republican candidate, whose campaign has been bogged down since JD Vance was nominated as his running mate. Several controversial videos of the 40-year-old senator have resurfaced. In one of them, the former best-selling author mocks “unhappy cat ladies,” a reference to people who choose to live without a partner or child. His remarks were immediately criticized by many Americans.