Going to a Donald Trump rally turned at least one attendee into a Kamala Harris supporter.
At a Las Vegas rally, a 22-year-old undecided voter grew tired of the insults and wanted to leave, the Washington Post reported. “Anastasia Bennett, 22, quickly grew tired of the insults and was ready to leave. Bennett was undecided before attending the rally with her aunt, who supports Harris. But after hearing Trump speak, she said she planned to vote for Harris.
â’It was the insults and just being an hour late,’ she said.”
People are consistently leaving ex-president Donald Trump’s rallies early, so the Washington Post asked why. They noted that most stay, but Trump often runs late and goes long, “prompting many to bow out because of other responsibilities, priorities or, sometimes, waning patience and interest, according to Washington Post interviews and observations across dozens of events. Some said they wanted to beat traffic or had work the next day. Others complained about sound quality. One man wanted to go home to his French bulldog. Another needed to get home to his daughter. A third had a Yorkie with him that started acting out. A fourth man said his phone died.”
A few examples from their reporting:
In Atlanta, “as he kept talking, slashing into Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and going off script, hundreds if not thousands of people left the arena.”
In Indiana, Pa., “attendees trickled out as Trump falsely claimed that ‘every legal expert’Â wanted abortion policy sent back to the states, over an hour into his speech. More left as he repeated his warning about ‘World War III.’”
“By 9:20 p.m., about 90 minutes after he began, the empty seats were noticeable at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex, while Trump called the nationâs capital a ‘horror show.’ He wrapped up his speech about five minutes later.”
Indiana, Pa is a district Trump won by a large margin, but I’ve spoken to diehard Trump supporters there, tracking the same folks from the 2016 campaign to now, who tell me they wish he’d stop doing rallies because he sound good. He gives off whining and weakness. They’re still supporting him and still want him to win, but even they can see he isn’t going over well when he speaks publicly.
We see evidence of this in the diminished visible support for the former president in western Pennsylvania: There are fewer Trump signs and a surprising amount of Harris-Walz signs. Every day, more surprising Harris-Walz signs pop up. Signs don’t vote, but they can be seen as an indication of enthusiasm.
In Tucson, even Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake left early, in fact she was among the first to leave, the Post reported.
Trump won’t cut down the two hours, because “They want a show. They want two hours,” according to an ally who spoke to the Post.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
