WILKES-BARRE, PA — Gesturing to the long line snaking around a parking lot to get into Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally Saturday, Virginia resident Michelle Kessler said there’s no way Kamala Harris has erased the lead Trump once enjoyed in the race, as many polls show.
“I don’t believe that for a minute,” Kessler said as she waited to get into the rally in a pink MAGA hat and "Women for Trump" shirt. “I mean look at all this. Trump has a huge following. Harris does not have a following.”
Many other Trump fans who gathered in a Wilkes-Barre arena for the rally echoed Kessler, dismissing several polls showing Harris picking up steam and projecting confidence that Trump has the race under control.
Others, though, were nervous.
“It’s tight,” said Nazareth, Pennsylvania resident Jim Otto, who worried that Harris is triggering an “emotional” response with some voters that's giving her momentum.
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The MAGA movement’s mood Saturday, a month into a changed race that has seen Harris surging nationally and in key swing states, percolated with a mix of emotions.
Frustration at what they see as a Democratic candidate who is “hiding” from the media and avoiding being pinned down on issues. Trepidation that the race isn’t the blowout it once seemed. Denial that Trump is struggling against a new opponent.
Inside the Trump rally bubble, there are still plenty of people who refuse to acknowledge the changing dynamics of the race and plenty of others who still are optimistic about his chances, but also eager to see him do more to blunt Harris’ momentum as she heads into a Democratic National Convention that could provide another boost of energy.
Some of the rallygoers voiced the same concerns high-profile GOP leaders are expressing about Trump’s message discipline. They want to see him stick to the kitchen table issues they care most about – chiefly inflation. Others said Trump’s personal broadsides against opponents are part of his appeal.
Trump will try to counter Harris this week by blanketing the swing states, holding public events every day while his campaign does Democratic convention counterprogramming on the ground in Chicago. The former president has ramped up his campaign efforts recently with more rallies, press conferences and issue-focused appearances.
The Trump campaign is struggling to define Harris, though, and some of his most ardent supporters are worried that 2024 could be a repeat of 2020, when President Joe Biden squeaked out a tight victory.
“Joe Biden beat him four years ago and all he did was just basically what Kamala’s doing now,” said Lewis Yost, a retired corrections officer who traveled from Lockwood, New York, for the rally. “History tends to repeat itself if people don’t learn from it.”
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Trump hits the road
As Trump prepared to speak to voters in Wilkes-Barre, he and aides finalized plans to counter this week's proceedings at the Democratic convention − and to play defense as Harris basks in the glow of her formal nomination to the presidency.
Trump aides said they believe Harris will gain in the polls in the wake of the convention that kicks off Monday – most major party nominees do − and they are working to counteract that as the election heads into the final two months.
Trump, vice presidential nominee JD Vance, and other campaign officials will conduct a series of anti-Harris events in key battlegrounds, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. The former president is expected to campaign every day of the week, Monday through Friday.
In the month since Biden withdrew from the race, Harris has erased the lead that Trump had built up since his debate performance against the incumbent president on June 27.
Trump aides said they expected the Harris surge, citing a July 23 memo from pollster Tony Fabrizio that predicted a long "honeymoon" for Harris lasting through the Democratic convention.
The memo also said that switching candidates "does NOT change voters discontent over the economy, inflation, crime, the open border (and) housing costs," as well as "concern over two foreign wars" – items that are sure to be part of Trump counterprogramming in the upcoming week.
Eventually, Fabrizio wrote, "Harris' 'honeymoon' will end and voters will refocus on her role as Biden's partner and co-pilot."
Trying to help that along, Trump plans to criticize Harris − and Biden − on issues like inflation and immigration, although some Republicans fear that he will continue to veer off into distracting personal attacks. The former president held multiple campaign events in recent weeks that were billed as economy-focused, but instead included attacks on issues ranging from the border to Harris' racial identity.
Republican Party officials said polls and focus groups indicated that voters want more of a focus on issues, particularly the economy, and that mudslinging is a turn-off. Some have taken to the airwaves and social media to advise Trump to stay focused.
"Get out there and start making the case, and use her own words to do it to her," said former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaking on Fox News.
Trump voters want policy message
Wilkes-Barre rally attendees expressed some of the same concerns.
Yost, the retired corrections officer, said Saturday before the Wilkes-Barre rally that if Trump "cut down on the name calling he should be good."
"He really needs to just push on them issues, remind everybody how his first four years went, remind everybody how these last four years have been," Yost said as he stood in the parking lot under an overcast sky before entering the rally.
Trump attracted a large crowd Saturday that showed up hours before the event. People drank beer and tailgated in the parking lot outside the Mohegan Sun Arena, which holds between 8,000 and 10,000 people and was mostly full when Trump took the stage shortly before 5 p.m. Republican Senate candidate David McCormick and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum were among those warming up the crowd.
Outside before the event, a festive atmosphere prevailed in the parking lot as vendors hocked Trump gear, bikers rolled through with a big flag bearing Trump's mug shot from one of the four criminal cases against him and country music blared over loudspeakers.
Jason Koch, 42, acknowledged the race has "tightened up" as he stood in line in the parking lot but said he feels "confident" about Trump's position. He is frustrated, though, about what he perceives as Trump being held to a higher standard than Harris.
"I think it will all come out in the wash if she ever does an interview," said Koch, a Nescopeck, Pennsylvania resident who works for an energy company.
In interviews with USA TODAY, rallygoers repeatedly said Harris is hiding from the media and slammed her for not doing interviews. Some said her strength in the polls is because voters don't know enough about her yet and accused her of changing her positions.
"She's a good facade," said Otto, the Nazareth resident who works in local government. "However, I don't think they know what's behind that facade."
Harris is a "copycat" who has emulated Trump on issues such as his proposal not to tax tips, Otto said, and is "flip flopping" on her past positions on issues such as fracking for oil and natural gas.
Still, Otto, 55, has been nervous watching the polls. He wants Trump to "stick to the list" of policy proposals he has rolled out.
"I wish he would just stick to the game plan at times," said Otto, who wore overalls and a camouflage MAGA hat.
Yost believes Trump's "confidence" should carry him to victory, but he needs to run a stronger race.
"Trump's not in as good a position as he needs to be," he said.
Kessler, 55, drove three and a half hours Saturday from Virginia to attend her fourth Trump rally. Despite her ardent belief that Trump is dominating the race, she also admitted to being nervous, saying “I think they’re going to try and steal it again," referencing the former president's unfounded claims about voter fraud in 2020, which he repeated on Saturday.
Personal attacks continue: Trump says he is 'better looking' than Harris
The rally started with Trump hammering Harris on economic issues, complaining about inflation − which has been easing − as he declared the American dream is "dead as a door nail" under Biden and Harris.
Soon he was digressing into personal attacks on Harris, though, calling her a "lunatic" who has "the laugh of a crazy person." He delved into her appearance, declaring he is “much better looking than her."
As Democrats gather in Chicago, Trump predicted the convention will be "nothing but riots" and questioned the legitimacy of the affair.
"It's a rigged convention, obviously," he said. "She got no votes." While Harris did run at the top of the ticket in the Democratic primary earlier this year with Biden, she was formally backed by state delegations after entering the race in the process that typically plays out at political conventions.
The Harris campaign dismissed the Wilkes-Barre event in a statement as the "same old show."
"The more Americans hear Trump speak, the clearer the choice this November," the statement continued, saying Harris wants to move the country forward while Trump would "take us backwards."
