On Thursday, October 17, Vice President Kamala Harris responded to Donald Trump's fixation on the size of the audiences at his campaign rallies during a speech in Wisconsin.
While discussing Trump's involvement in the repeal of Roe v. Wade's protections, she was interrupted by several audience members who hurled insults at her.
"Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally," she joked, prompting other audience members to cheer. "No, I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street."
This is in response to media reports that a substantial number of attendees at Trump rallies have been departing early. Approximately 500 of the 2,700 attendees who attended the former president's most recent campaign visit in Marietta, Georgia, departed before the event concluded.
According to The Guardian, Trump's tardiness delayed his arrival at the rally by an hour and a half, resulting in guests' gradual departure as early as seven minutes into his speech.
One individual who departed later in the evening stated, "I live an hour away, and my son is waiting in the car. He didn’t want to come in. He’s a teenager. " Another participant informed the news source that she had "worked" all day and had to leave early because she was "tired."
Former President Obama made light of Trump's obsession with the number of attendees at his rallies during a speech at the Democratic National Convention, as previously reported by OK! Magazine.
"Here's a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago," he said to the Harris followers in the crowd. "It has been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that's been getting worse now that he's afraid of losing to Kamala. There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes."
Harris also proposed that "people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom" during the presidential debate on September 10.
"You will see during the course of his rallies, he talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter. He will talk about windmills causing cancer!" she stated. "I will tell you, the one thing you will not hear him talk about is you. You will not hear him talk about your needs, your dreams and your desires. I believe you deserve a president who actually puts you first. And I pledge to you that I will."
Meanwhile, on Thursday night, former President Donald Trump insulted the family of Vice President Kamala Harris. He also repeatedly mispronounced her name and complained about how poorly he was treated during his presidency. The Al Smith charity dinner crowd responded with occasional cheers and some laughter throughout the evening.
Harris, who had decided a month ago that she would not attend the event, had just finished her sixth trip to the battleground state of Wisconsin since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Trump's monologue was delivered at the storied Catholic fundraiser, which is located in New York City and has traditionally featured light roasts by the two major-party nominees in presidential election years.
She honed her attacks on her Republican opponent by turning his comments against him as the contest enters its final weeks. She was doing this a thousand highway miles away, barnstorming the vital blue wall states and seeking to shore up her most favorable path to the White House.
“It just gets more unbelievable sometimes. And now the man calls himself the father of IVF,” Harris said on Thursday, recalling Trump’s remark at an all-woman’s town hall, as per The National Enquirer. “I mean, what does that even mean?” And she accused Trump of “gaslighting” the American people after he called January 6, 2021, a “day of love” at his Univision town hall earlier this week.
In Manhattan, the former president was surrounded by a diverse group of people who could be classified as either allies or enemies, as well as some who could be considered both. The New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Melania Trump, who had previously served as the first lady, flanked Donald Trump.
Trump may have noticed that New York Attorney General Letitia James, who had successfully brought a sizeable civil fraud lawsuit against him, was standing over his shoulder, CNN reported. A significant donor, Woody Johnson, the New York Jets owner, also contributed. Michael Bloomberg, who had previously served as Mayor of New York City, sat there, largely expressionless, as the former president spoke.
Trump put up a few one-liners when it was his turn to speak, but he primarily focused on criticizing his competitors. He said that Harris' absence was "deeply disrespectful" to Catholics.
At the end of the 2020 election, exit polls showed that Joe Biden, who would become the nation's second Catholic president, finished with a five-point advantage over Donald Trump among Catholic voters. Compared to Hillary Clinton, Trump was ahead of her by roughly the same percentage four years earlier. When asked about the race in September, Pope Francis could only respond by saying that the people of the United States should "choose the lesser of two evils."
Trump disparaged the vice president's intelligence as he’s done so often on the trail.
“Right now, we have someone in the White House who can barely talk, barely put together two coherent sentences, who seems to have the mental faculties of a child. There’s a person that has nothing going. No intelligence whatsoever,” Trump said. “But enough about Kamala Harris.”
After making fun of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Harris' running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, as a result of their support for transgender rights, Trump took a moment to note that politicians have traditionally used the event as an opportunity to engage in some self-deprecating comedy.
“Nope,” he said after a pause. “I’ve got nothing.”
A month ago, federal prosecutors accused New York City Mayor Eric Adams of accusations of corruption. In his remarks, the former president reaffirmed his support for Adams, who was indicted on these charges. After wishing Adams "good luck," Trump rehashed the well-known canard that the Justice Department indicted Adams because of the mayor's criticism of the border policies implemented by the Biden administration.
“You’re going to win, I think you’re going to win, I know you’re going to win, so good luck,” Trump told Adams. “Good luck. I don’t like what they do.”
At the beginning of this year, Trump was found guilty in New York on 34 charges of criminal crimes related to the falsification of company documents. He has entered not-guilty pleas in three further criminal cases, which he regularly asserts are political revenge planned by Biden. However, he has refused to provide any proof to support his assertions.
Even though Harris was not physically present at the meal, which was hosted remotely in the year 2020 during the COVID-19 epidemic, he did send a video greeting to those who attended.
“The Gospel of Luke tells us that faith has the power to shine a light on those living in darkness, and to guide our feet in the path of peace,” Harris said. “And in honor of the great Al Smith, let us fight to build a better future with faith in God, our country, and in each other.”
Kamala also performed a skit with comedian Molly Shannon, who slipped back into character as Mary Katherine Gallagher, the perpetually overexcited Catholic schoolgirl from "Saturday Night Live." Shannon advised Harris not to "say anything negative about the Catholics" in her remarks. The vice president also performed a skit with Shannon.
“I would never do that, no matter where I was,” Harris said before delivering her punchline. “That would be like criticizing Detroit in Detroit.”
Trump did just that last week during a campaign stop in the Motor City, which he compared to a “developing nation.”
Business Times has reached out to Kamala Harris and Donald Trump for comments.
