DAVID MARCUS: 5 shocking events that shaped the elections

Presidential campaigns are primarily about messaging. In any race, the campaigns and media emphasize the importance of certain ideas or moments in the hope that they will saturate public consciousness. But of the hundreds of attempts to do so, only a handful succeed.

In 2024, in my travels to more than two dozen towns and cities, there were five moments that stood out for capturing the imagination of the electorate and shaping Americans’ voting preferences. Each of them changed the story of the race and set a new direction for it.

No matter who wins, these are the stories that got us here.

The assassination attempt on Butler

Echoing the original shot heard around the world, Donald Trump’s near miss in Butler, Pennsylvania, in which a defiant former president was shot, bleeding and pumping his fist into the crowd, is the most iconic moment of these elections. For Trump supporters, the shooting reinforced what they already felt about him: that he was strong, courageous and maybe even a little stubborn.

For independents and even some Democrats I spoke to, confronting Trump’s death sent a clear signal that it was time to stop the dangerous rhetoric of calling him “Hitler,” and for a while, that happened. But not for long.

Also, many people at the time, including two shipworkers I spoke with in Toledo, Ohio, thought the race was over. One of them looked at the TV and then at me and said, “That’s it, he’s going to win.” And that brings us directly to our second moment.

Biden’s timing breaks down

Without a doubt, the most important, historic and consequential event in the 2024 race was President Joe Biden’s decision to leave the race. And it wasn’t just the choice, it was the timing.

No one knows what role the attempt on Trump’s life played in Biden’s decision, but weeks earlier he and his allies insisted he was going nowhere despite his bizarre and disturbing debate performance against Trump. Trump. Only after the shooting and a triumphant Republican National Convention celebrating Trump’s survival did the pressure on Biden become too much to bear.

Had Biden chosen to resign in March, Kamala Harris may or may not have won a contested Democratic primary, but she would have had to go through that gauntlet, answering questions and doing interviews. Biden left no time for that.

The comment I heard most often from voters on the ground, especially after she reneged on a dozen of her previous progressive positions, was, “I just don’t know who she is.” But that was going to change.

Harris starts taking interviews

In late August, after weeks of running a “Hidin’ Harris” 2024 campaign in which she declined to give interviews, the vice president finally sat down for a friendly chat with NBC News’ Lester Holt, and brought her running mate Tim Waltz along. It didn’t go well. In an attempt to address her flip-flops, she said, “My values ​​haven’t changed,” which didn’t answer the question.

Things got worse weeks later when Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier put the veep to the test, at one point exasperatedly telling the journalist, “You and I both know what I’m talking about,” to which Baier, on behalf of millions of Americans spoke, replied: “Actually no. What are you talking about?”

After that, the most common comment I heard from voters was no longer, “I don’t know who she is,” but, “Why can’t she answer questions?” I even heard this from union guys working for Harris in Pennsylvania. If she loses, this will probably be the reason.

Springfield, OH

“They eat the cats, they eat the dogs,” Trump said during the presidential debate, amid howling accusations of racism from Democrats and the media who claimed Trump was endangering the 15,000 Haitian migrants in Springfield, a city of just 60,000. brought. Residents.

It was classic Trump. At first he made the story about himself, picking up on running mate J.D. Vance’s suggestion that pets become meat, but when the dust settled, the story became Springfield itself, and the blatant mismanagement of the migrant asylum program there that had occurred before . ignored.

In Springfield, I heard from grateful citizens who were finally being listened to, and it resonated more widely. A woman in Bedford, Pennsylvania, told me, “I don’t care about the cats and dogs, but I’m worried about 10,000 migrants being dropped off on our doorstep.”

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The Teamsters stump

When the Teamsters refused to endorse Harris for president in late September, it was essentially two bomb attacks in one. First, there was the criticism itself, and then internal polling showed Biden beating Trump by double digits, but Trump beating Harris by double digits.

This was an earthquake for Democrats, who rely heavily not only on the votes of private sector union members, but also on their organizing. In Washington, Pennsylvania, around that time I met a former Teamsters official whose disdain for Harris was so vivid and audible that a waiter had to tell us to shut up.

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This was the first major chink in Harris’ armor. From that point on, the joy and optimism that had permeated her campaign turned into a darker, more terrifying message that culminated in words like “Hitler” and “fascist” dangerously returning to the track.

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 have shaken the campaign and grabbed the attention of American voters.

Politics can put the horse of voter interest to water, but it cannot make voters drink. These five events got them drinking. And on one hand or the other, a bad hangover is coming soon.

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