What's Rattling Trump: The Size of Harris's Crowds (NY Times) [View all]
The numbers game is everything to Donald J. Trump. Vice President Kamala Harriss first big rally appears to have gotten under his skin.
By Shawn McCreesh
Reporting from Atlanta
Aug. 4, 2024
Updated 3:45 p.m. ET
When former President Donald J. Trump walked onto the stage at his rally in Atlanta on Saturday, fog machines shot white plumes of smoke into the air, heralding his arrival.
If you looked closely, you could almost imagine steam pouring out of his ears, too. All week long, something had been giving him the vapors.
(snip)
The numbers game has long been of paramount importance for Mr. Trump. As a reality television star, he was obsessed with ratings (What is it about me that gets Larry King his highest ratings? he wrote in one of his books). This only intensified once he entered politics. He spent his first full day in office as president trying to convince the news media that his inauguration crowd was larger than the Womens March the day before. (It was not.)
(snip)
Ms. Harriss rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday, when she is expected to unveil her running mate, is likely to be a blowout. After that, shes going on tour, holding rallies in western Wisconsin; Detroit; Raleigh, N.C.; Savannah, Ga.; Phoenix; and Las Vegas. Its all starting to screw with Mr. Trumps psyche.
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This story claims that both candidates' rallies have been about even in attendance. Could have sworn I saw reports that Harris' were way over what Trump was getting.