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Presidential campaigns are all about messaging. In any race, campaigns and the media push the importance of certain ideas or moments in the hope that they will fill the public consciousness. But in hundreds of attempts to do this, only a few succeed.
In 2024, during my travels to more than a dozen cities and towns, there were five moments that stood out in capturing the voters' perspective, and shaping the preferences of the American people. Each changed the narrative of the race and charted a new course for it.
Regardless of who won, these are the stories that got us here.
The Butler Assassination Attempt
Echoing the first image heard around the world, Donald Trump's disappearance in Butler, Pa., which left the respected former president shot, bleeding and pumping his fist at the crowd is a historic moment of this election. For Trump supporters, the shooting reinforced what they had heard about him: that he was strong, courageous, and perhaps a little stubborn.
TOPSHOT – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by undercover operatives as he is led off stage at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. (Photo by Rebecca DROKE / AFP ) (Photo by REBECCA DROKE /AFP via Getty Images) (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
To the independents and even Democrats I spoke to, Trump's brush with death sent a clear signal that it was time for the dangerous rhetoric of calling him “Hitler” to stop, and for a while, it did. But not for long.
And, at that point, many people, including two crew members I interviewed in Toledo, Ohio, thought the race was over. One of them watched TV, then looked at me, and said, “That's it, you're going to win.” And that brings us directly to our second point.
Biden's time is running out
Easily the most important, historic and important event in the 2024 race was President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the race. And it wasn't just a choice, but more of a time.
No one knows what role Trump's life attempt played in Biden's decision, but in recent weeks, he and his allies have insisted he's going nowhere despite his wild and tiresome anti-Trump debate. It was only after this incident, and the Republican National Convention that won Trump's survival, that the pressure on Biden became too much to bear.
Bob Woodward's new book details eyewitness accounts of President Biden's alleged rise more than a year before he abandoned his re-election campaign. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
If Biden had opted out in March, Kamala Harris may or may not have won the Democratic primary, but she would have had to go through the motions, answering questions and conducting interviews. Biden left no time for that.
The comment I heard the most from voters, especially after denying his past positions, was “I don't know who you are.” But that was about to change.
Harris Starts Conducting Interviews
In late August, after weeks of running the 'Hidin' Harris' 2024 campaign where he refused to do any interviews, the vice president finally sat down for an interview with NBC News' Lester Holt, along with his running mate Tim Walz. It didn't go well. Trying to talk about his paleness, he said, “My values haven't changed,” which didn't answer the question.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – AUGUST 22: Democratic US vice president Kamala Harris speaks on stage during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 22, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Delegates, politicians, and supporters of the Democratic Party gathered in Chicago, as current Vice President Kamala Harris was nominated as her party's presidential nominee. The DNC takes place from August 19-22. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
It got worse a few weeks later when Fox News Channel's Bret Baier maddened the veep, who at one point, angrily, told a reporter, “You and I both know what I'm talking about,” when Baier, speaking for millions of Americans. , he replied, “Actually I don't want to. What are you talking about?”
After that, the most common comment I heard from voters was no longer, “I don't know who he is,” but, “Why can't he answer any questions?” I even heard this from union boys riding Harris in Pennsylvania. If he loses, this will probably be the reason.
Springfield, Ohio
“They eat cats, they eat dogs,” Trump said in a presidential debate, bemoaning accusations of racism from Democrats and the media who said Trump was endangering 15,000 Haitian immigrants in Springfield, a city of just 60,000 people. citizens.
It was classic Trump. He first did a story about himself, taking JD Vance's suggestion that pets were becoming meat, but then, when the dust settled, the story became Springfield itself, and the apparent mismanagement of the shelter system there, which had existed before. they are ignored.
In Springfield, I heard about the grateful citizens who were finally being heard, and it was heard widely. One woman from Bedford, Pa., told me, “I don't care about cats and dogs, but I do worry about 10,000 immigrants being dumped on our doorstep.”
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The Teamsters Snub
When the Teamsters refused to endorse Harris for president in late September, it was essentially two bombs in one. First, it was the snub itself, then there were internal polls that showed Biden was beating Trump by double digits, but Trump was beating Harris by double digits.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – JULY 15: International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O'Brien speaks on stage during the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and Republicans in Milwaukee at the annual convention, which ended with former President Donald Trump accepting his party's presidential nomination. The RNC will be held July 15-18. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
This was an earthquake for Democrats who rely heavily not only on the votes of independent union members, but on their organization. In Washington, Pa., around the same time, I met a former Teamsters official whose detestation of Harris was so clear and loud that the waiter had to tell us to be quiet.
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This was the first major chink in Harris' armor. From that moment on, the joy and optimism that permeated his campaign turned into a dark, terrifying message that culminated in words like “Hitler” and “fascist” making their dangerous return to the streets.
In the coming days or weeks we will know the outcome of this election, but whatever it is, it will be shaped by unexpected moments that shook the campaign and caught the attention of the American voters.
Politics can bring a voter's horse to water, but it cannot make voters drink. These five events made them drink. And one way or another, a bad hangover is on its way soon.
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