CHICAGO – As the Democratic National Convention gets underway Monday in blue state Illinois’ largest city, former President Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, will be in battleground Pennsylvania.
It’s part of the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee’s plan to offer a full week of counterprogramming to the Democrats’ national nominating convention.
“Donald Trump is barnstorming all across the country over the course of this next week,” RNC chair Michael Whatley emphasized in a Sunday interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”
“We are going to be out directly talking to every American family across the country the way that only Donald Trump can. And we are absolutely asking for their votes. We’re asking for their support,” Whatley highlighted.
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Former President Trump pumps his fist after speaking during a campaign rally at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza on Aug. 17, 2024, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The move is partially to try and blunt the momentum of Vice President Kamala Harris heading into the Democrats’ convention. Harris has been riding a wave of energy and enthusiasm – both in polling and in fundraising – since replacing President Biden at the top of the Democrats’ 2024 ticket four weeks ago.
But it also appears to be another move to try and put pressure on Harris for not holding a news conference or a major interview since Biden bowed out and backed his vice president.
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“At the DNC, Kamala Harris will hide behind celebrities because everyday families know that she has been an absolute disaster for our nation, and real Americans are worse off now than four years ago,” Trump campaign co-chairs Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita charged in a statement on the eve of the convention.
Vice President Kamala Harris, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz arrive at Pittsburgh International Airport, Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
And they argued that the vice president “has failed to answer media questions for 28 days because she can’t explain away her record of supporting policies that cause inflation, bans on private health insurance, destroying American energy, and higher taxes.”
As Fox News first reported last week, both Trump and Vance will be on the campaign trail during the Democrats’ convention, headlining both smaller “messaging events” and larger rallies in the states that will likely decide the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
And as a Trump adviser revealed last week, “a whole cadre of people” – including top surrogates – will also be making the GOP’s case throughout the week.
HARRIS AND TRUMP TRADE FIRE IN BATTLE FOR THE BLUE WALL STATES
Trump’s schedule is packed this week – with more events than he’s done in months.
The former president and Vance, the first-term senator from Ohio, hold separate events Monday on the economy in Pennsylvania, which, with 19 electoral votes up for grabs, is the largest prize among the crucial swing states.
On Tuesday, Trump will be in Michigan while Vance spotlights the issue of crime during a news conference in Wisconsin.
Sen. JD Vance greets former President Trump during a campaign rally at Georgia State University in Atlanta on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
The GOP running mates team up on Wednesday for a national security-themed event in North Carolina.
On Thursday, Trump’s in Arizona while Vance highlights immigration during a stop in Georgia. And on Friday, the former president stumps in Arizona and Nevada on his “no tax on tips” pledge.
“As they meet Americans where they are in battleground states across the country, President Trump and Senator Vance will remind voters that under their leadership, we can end inflation, protect our communities from violent criminals, secure the border, and Make America Great Again,” LaCivita and Wiles said.
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On Monday, as the convention kicked off, top Trump allies in the Senate – Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin – were also making the case for the former president and took aim at Harris and Walz, at a news conference in downtown Chicago’s Trump International Hotel and Tower.
The campaign plans on holding news conferences throughout the week at Trump’s Chicago hotel. The Biden campaign counterprogrammed with a news conference that included top surrogates in Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention last month.
Ahead of stops by Trump and Vance in Pennsylvania on Monday, the Harris campaign took aim at the former president.
“The more Americans hear Trump speak, the clearer the choice this November: Vice President Harris is unifying voters with her positive vision to protect our freedoms, build up the middle class, and move America forward – and Donald Trump is trying to take us backwards.” Harris campaign spokesperson Joseph Costello claimed.
Trump and Vance won’t be the only candidates in the swing states this week.
Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will travel Tuesday from Chicago to Milwaukee to headline a rally in the key Midwestern battleground.
In years past, it was traditional for a presidential candidate to lay low while the other party held its national nominating convention.
But last month, as the Republicans held their convention in Milwaukee, Biden briefly campaigned in the key swing state of Nevada before cutting his trip short after catching COVID.
Days later, Biden’s blockbuster announcement that he was ending his re-election campaign following his disastrous late June debate performance against Trump upended the 2024 election.