Trump crowds dwindle as Palm Beach preps for election party
Palm Beach, Florida: Donald Trump closed his campaign with false claims about election fraud and Kamala Harris’ crowd sizes, but it was the Republican nominee who spoke in partly empty arenas as both candidates crossed the finish line.
The former president crossed three states on the final full day of campaigning, beginning in North Carolina, heading to Pittsburgh in the all-important state of Pennsylvania (where Harris spent the entire day) and finishing, as is his tradition, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he started speaking after midnight and was still speaking at 1.30am.
Donald Trump speaks during his closing campaign event at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan.Credit: Bloomberg
“We do not have to live this way,” he said in Pittsburgh as he asked Americans, as per his stump speech, whether they felt better off than four years ago. “We do not have to settle for weakness, incompetence, decline and decay.”
Trump has always measured success by TV ratings and crowd sizes, but he appeared to struggle on those indicators as the campaign drew to a close. Reporters on the ground relayed that Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, was about 70 per cent full, and the upper stands at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh were cordoned off and empty.
While Harris, the vice president and Democratic nominee, pivoted to optimism in the campaign’s final days, and stripped her speeches of Trump’s name, Trump dialled up his false claims about his opponent’s “cheating” and voting systems being susceptible to fraud.
Former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly spoke at Donald Trump’s rally in Pittsburgh and said she would be voting for him.Credit: AP
“They’ll try [to rig the election]. And they are trying. You know that,” he said in Pittsburgh. He also claimed to have heard “stories” that it might take 12 additional days to count the votes, and “bad things happen when you do that”.
After months on the campaign trail, delivering the same message of grievance and doom, and with nearly 80 million Americans having already voted, it is not surprising that enthusiasm for Trump’s long and meandering speeches would dim.
But it feeds into a perception of momentum shifting towards Harris, a momentum she has openly claimed in the past 48 hours after being buoyed by a series of favourable polls in swing states and at least one, Iowa, that was considered to be in the Republican column.
Democratic strategists have noted Trump’s frequent appearances in North Carolina in recent days, suggesting it showed the Republican need to shore up support in the only one of the seven battleground states he won against Joe Biden in 2020.
One of the few surprises of the day was a speech at Trump’s Pittsburgh rally by former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, who famously drew Trump’s ire before the 2016 election after she questioned him about his attitude toward women. On Monday (Tuesday AEDT) she enthused: “He will be a protector of women, and it’s why I’m voting for him.”
Workers in Florida erect fencing for an election night watch party for Donald Trump supporters.Credit: AP
Trump was due to head home to Florida, where he will appear alongside aides, family and friends for an election watch party at the Palm Beach County Convention Centre in West Palm Beach, a short drive from his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Preparations were in overdrive, with two lanes on the busy road outside the centre closed to traffic as workers erected temporary fencing and bollards. Media crews from around the globe were camped on the lawns outside, speaking to camera and setting the scene.
Preperations are under way for Donald Trump’s election night watch party.Credit: Michael Koziol
Many reporters have been denied access to the event due to what the Trump team says are capacity constraints, and will have to cover it from a spillover area nearby. But there was no one around to stop this masthead from taking a sneak peek inside the building on Monday evening (Tuesday AEDT).
Large banners saying “Make America Great Again” had been installed and 15 American flags were on stage. Neon blocks spelling out “TRUMP 47” were also present at one entrance to the ballroom (Trump would become the 47th president if elected again). Bottles of wine and plastic tumblers had also been set up at several stations dotted around the convention floor.
Security is a massive logistical undertaking for an event of this nature and is being handled in concert by the Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security, the West Palm Beach Police Department and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James warned would-be troublemakers to stay away. “While we don’t expect or want any trouble or issues, I just want to let everyone know that if you are thinking about or planning on coming to our great city to cause problems, don’t do it,” he said. “It won’t end well for you.”
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said protesters were expected and they would have a designated area. “At the slightest inclination that things are getting ready to heat up and get out of hand, we’re going to stop it real early, and you’ll come spend the night with me,” he said.
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