Trump, Harris – a tale of two events

Within the past twenty-four hours, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris each held an event. Harris held a rally – well, not quite – yesterday evening. Trump held a press conference this afternoon, effectively on the spur of the moment. Trump ran his press conference in an orderly fashion, but gladly fielded questions on a wide variety of issues. Harris held a rally in a swing State – and by all accounts it ended in disaster. These two events provide an instructive contrast between the two Presidential candidates. Trump offers transparency and even some good humor (and lately, some welcome humility). Harris offers arrogance, conceit, and an appalling lack of organization. As you prepare to vote, ask yourselves: which style do you prefer?

Trump calls a press conference

Donald Trump called his press conference at his Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida, today at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

Trump announced, in his opening statement, that he had brokered three dates for debates on various networks. They are:

• Wednesday, September 4, on Fox News Channel,
• Tuesday, September 10, on NBC-TV, and
• Wednesday, September 25, on ABC-TV.

Note that the Biden campaign had set up a debate for September 10, on ABC-TV. Then, of course, Biden dropped out of the race, after performing disastrously at the debate he and Trump did hold. Confusion now reigns as to which network agreed to host the second and third debate. The Post Millennial posted the debate schedule as stated above, at 2:17 p.m.

But later The Post Millennial carried this story, listing the debate networks as Fox, ABC and NBC. Finally at 5:56 p.m., Harris responded by confirming only the September 10 date.

Fifty-five minutes later, Selina Wang, ABC News Senior White House Correspondent, confirmed that Harris rejected the Fox debate. She will debate on NBC only if Trump shows up to the ABC debate.

How the conference went

But far more important than these debate proposals – to which Harris campaign officials have not yet replied – was how Trump ran his press conference. For about an hour – after he finished his opening statement – he took questions all around, excluding no one. In fact he seemed to enjoy himself as he willingly talked about the various cases against him, confusion about his stance on abortion, and even whether he would – or would not – allow the sending of mifepristone through the mail.

On abortion, he repeated what he has said often: each State will decide the issue for itself. (In fact, Florida will hold a referendum on abortion, and Trump, as a Florida resident, will vote on it. He declined to say how he planned to vote – but promised to reveal that in a future press conference.) On mifepristone, he said, “We have to have a vote.” That part is not clear, but it could mean an act of Congress to amend or repeal the Comstock Act. That Act forbids the sending, through the mails, of “articles having an immoral purpose.” No one seriously doubts that Anthony Comstock intended to forbid the sending of abortifacient drugs or devices through the mail. But some have already said that “immoral purposes” could refer to pornography instead. (He did not discuss the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. The head of that Project has already resigned from it.)

Trump shows how to be transparent

In short, Donald Trump ran the kind of press conference one normally expects from a President – or a Presidential candidate. Some might accuse him of giving a dodgy answer or two, but he did give an answer to every question. Equally obviously, no one pre-screened those questions in advance.

Regarding his opponents, he took care not to mention Harris’ name any more often than the situation required. Even then, he called her by her first name. Of her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), he said scarcely a word. But he did point out that Harris could have selected any of a wide variety of other running mates who might have made her race easier than it will now be. (Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Pa., in Trump’s opinion, is not one of them. Trump challenged the notion that Shapiro enjoys good relations in his State; Shapiro will face reelection in two years.) As to specific criticism of Walz, Trump leaves that up to his running mate, Sen. J. D. Vance (R-Ohio).

More to the point, Trump confined his criticism of Harris to her record, chiefly on the border, a record she now is trying to run away from. A propos of that, he reiterated his call for “the largest mass deportation operation in American history.” He also said he would prioritize those who, having entered, committed additional crimes on U.S. territory, starting with the most violent offenders.

Harris gives a rally – after a concert

Yesterday, Kamala Harris repeated her Atlanta mistake – she held a “rally” in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, with local talent for headliners. The Bon Iver band performed for the crowd, and Matt Smith, political director for WISN (Channel Twelve, Milwaukee), shared video:

Smith quoted the campaign’s crowd-size estimate: 12,000. Several users derided that number, saying Trump draws many more. One user suggested many attendees were likely forced to attend.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. The worst was what she said at the event:

Right up there with her quip about “the significance of the passage of time.”

But when she traveled to Detroit, Michigan, she held a real rally – in a hangar at Detroit’s airport. That was a disaster. Christina Laila at The Gateway Pundit reported on the first part of that disaster. Pro-HAMAS hecklers arrived and kept up a steady chant about “genocide” in Gaza.

Harris tried to ignore them, and stick to her prepared speech about “democracy” and about Project 2025. Then she grew testy.

You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking!

I am here because we believe in democracy. Everyone’s voice matters. But I am speaking now. I am speaking now.

Stranded

Then came a worse problem. Sierra Marlee of BizPacReview gave the details. When the rally ended, the attendees – influencer Josiah Lippincott guessed from 5,000 to 7,000 – couldn’t get back to event parking. Shuttles were supposed to be available – and weren’t. Lippincott shared video and photographs:

Lippincott, as mentioned, estimated the crowd size at between 5,000 and 7,000.

One skeptical user pointed out that the building’s Certificate of Occupancy likely limited the capacity to 4,000. Another user posted this hilarious juxtaposition:

That aside, note what Lippincott said about the white buses being for union members. That’s how Harris drew even the crowd that attended. As one other user said, Trump never has to bus people in. Nor does he use headliners – because he is the headliner.

Attractiveness aside, consider the contrast. Donald Trump lays on a press conference, on short notice, and accommodates reporters without a hitch. Kamala Harris can only draw a crowd by using headliners – the real attraction – or having people bused in. And if people do drive in, shuttles are not available when people need them. Worse, buses find themselves turning around on narrow, two-lane roads, when they are supposed to have a turning-around place available.

With the contrast between transparency and arrogance, order and chaos, the correct choice for voters becomes clear.