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Given that the media cycle has been dominated by DNC coverage this week as Harris and Walz accepted the Democratic presidential and vice-presidential nominations, it might for the sake of balance be worth starting this week off with what’s been happening elsewhere in campaign land. However, for a detailed day-by-day breakdown of the race, have a look at this article written by Christopher Lorde.
In trying to pull some media attention away from the DNC, the GOP campaign found itself on the road this week. Vice-presidential hopeful J.D. Vance found himself in the middle of an unfortunate series of media gaffes. Vance was recorded trying to make conversation with a disinterested employee at a doughnut shop in Valdosta, Georgia whom upon being subjected to Vance’s introduction as a vice-presidential candidate, simply replied “Okay.” after asking his team not to film her. The awkward encounters continued for Vance as he asked for Swiss cheese on a sandwich at the beloved Pennsylvania food landmark, Pat’s King of Steaks renowned for its philadelphia cheesesteaks. Unfortunately it appears that in his effort to appear relatable to Pennsylvanians, Vance had neglected to remember that Pat’s only served provolone and Cheez Wiz as its cheese toppings. Whilst in fairness the incident was only moderately awkward, Democrats took to X to jokingly referred to this mistake as a “crime against humanity” clearly taking delight in Vance’s struggle to connect with voters on the road.
Trump also made moves in an effort to distract from the DNC, which boasted of a 28.9 million viewers audience (half a million more viewers than Trump had at the RNC), by hopping into his social media app Truth Social and offering “live truths” in response to Harris’s acceptance speech. Particular highlights include: “Where’s Hunter?” which struck some viewers as odd given that the convention was to celebrate Harris as the nominee not Biden; pointing out that “Walz was an ASSISTANT Coach, not a COACH” and criticising Harris for her thank yous “too rapidly” and asking “What’s going on with her?” when Harris tried to quieten crowds and begin her speech as the crowd met her with a thunderous applause when she stepped onto the stage.
Trump launched more attacks earlier on in the week after the Obamas took aim at him in their speeches to the convention on day 2 of the DNC. In what the Guardian referred to as a “devastating takedown”, Michelle Obama took aim at Trump’s comment a few months ago when he claimed that immigrants from the southern border were taking away “black jobs” to which Obama replied “I want to know, who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those black jobs?” - a line which sent X users alight with excitement as the former First Lady’s quip came as an unexpected change in tone from her 2012 DNC convention speech famous for the “When they go low, we go high” line. Barack Obama then took the stage and continued with this energy in a now-viral “crowd sizes” euphemism continuing to make jokes at Trump’s expense in his address. Trump in a rally in Asheboro, North Carolina accused the two of “getting personal” and made sure to refer to Obama by his middle name Hussein - a dogwhistle to birther claims that Trump helped spread during Obama’s first election.
On Friday in a rally in Phoenix Arizona, Robert F. Kennedy, expectedly suspended his independent bid for the presidency. Kennedy, previously a Democrat and a descendant of the late president John F. Kennedy, suspended his campaign and urged his supporters to back Trump instead. On his decision to pull out of the race, Kennedy cited legal battles that Democrats had waged to prevent his name appearing on the ballot in certain states which had led in part to the $3.4 million in debt the campaign had accrued by the time the suspension was announced. As of today, Kennedy’s name is set to appear on the ballot in 20 days and Kennedy has explained that he trying to withdraw his name from ballots in battleground states as not to weaken Trump’s chances who would need to secure wins from key battleground states like North Carolina, Michigan and Pennsylvania in order to secure a victory in November.
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