When Kamala doesn’t have rock stars at her rally, she can barely fill a room

People like to be part of something big and exciting. The Democrats know that—it’s human nature—so their job was to make Kamala’s campaign seem big and exciting. And of course, the way to do that is to show that her crowds match Donald Trump’s crowds. And they seemingly did—except it turns out that, as with everything about Kamala’s campaign, it’s smoke and mirrors. The reality, which showed up in Raleigh, North Carolina, is that, like Hillary before her, Kamala can’t organically fill a room.

 

Back in 2016, Mark Steyn was dubious about the Trump phenomenon. I can’t find the link now, but I vividly recall him writing that what changed his mind was when his daughter took him to a Trump rally (I think in New Hampshire). He was blown away by the crowds and the enthusiasm, and it was all organic. There were no breathless MSM reporters, nor were there rock stars. Instead, there were simply thousands of ordinary Americans desperate to hear a man who promised to end the woes the political class had visited on them for so long.

Image: The venue for Kamala’s Raleigh rally. X screen grab.

The Trump crowds were just as enthusiastic in 2020. Then, though, we were assured that the paucity of crowds for Biden was that his supporters were more decent people who cared desperately about not spreading COVID, unlike the evil Trump superspreaders.

The problem for Democrats was that, in 2024, Trump was and is still drawing massive crowds. Biden, without the COVID excuse, couldn’t fill a room. When Kamala, Obama, and Pelosi shivved Biden and Kamala stepped into his shoes, the Democrats needed to change that dynamic…or at least, make it appear that the dynamic was different.

And so it was that the media flooded us with stories of the long lines and filled stadiums for Kamala:

The line to get into Kamala Harris’ first rally with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, stretched for blocks away from the venue in Philadelphia. https://t.co/vKJIPljDDy pic.twitter.com/JOtBKPar58

— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) August 6, 2024

Roughly seven hours until VP Harris addresses supporters here in Atlanta. There is a line of supporters now (it was empty at 10a). Trump/ Vance will Campagin at same venue on Saturday – will be interesting to compare crowd sizes in this battleground state pic.twitter.com/qjbuS29zUF

— Mark Meredith (@markpmeredith) July 30, 2024