DAVID MARCUS: 5 shocking events that shaped the election

Presidential campaigns they focus primarily on messaging. In every race, campaigns and media highlight certain ideas or moments in hopes that they will saturate the public consciousness. But out of hundreds of attempts at this, only a handful are successful.

In 2024, during my travels to dozens of cities, there were five moments that particularly captured the imagination of the electorate and shaped Americans’ voting preferences. Each changed the narrative of the race and set a new direction for it.

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

Attempted assassination of Butler

The most iconic moment of this election is the echo of the original shot heard around the world as Donald Trump’s near miss in Butler, Pennsylvania, which left the defiant former president shot, bleeding and swinging his fist at the crowd. For Trump supporters, the shooting reinforced what they already thought about him: that he was strong, brave and maybe even a little stubborn.

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

Plus, at that point, many people, including two ship workers I talked to in Toledo, Ohio, thought the race was over. One of them looked at the TV, then at me and said, “That’s it, he’ll win.” And that brings us directly to the second moment.

Biden’s time is declining

Without a doubt, the most important, historic and consequential development in the 2024 race was President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the contest. And it wasn’t just a choice, it was very much a moment.

No one knows what role Trump’s attack played in Biden’s decision, but for weeks earlier he and his allies insisted he wasn’t going anywhere despite his bizarre and disturbing performance in the debate against Trump. Trump. It was only after the shooting and the triumphant Republican National Convention that celebrated Trump’s rescue that the pressure on Biden became unbearable.

Had Biden decided to withdraw in March, Kamala Harris might have won the Democratic primary, but she would have had to face the challenge by answering questions and giving interviews. Biden left no time for this.

The comment I heard most often from voters in the field, especially after she disavowed a dozen of her previous progressive positions, was: “I just don’t know who she is.” But that was about to change.

Harris begins giving interviews

In late August, after weeks of running the “Hidin’ Harris” 2024 campaign in which she refused to grant any interviews, the vice president finally had a friendly exchange with NBC News’ Lester Holt, bringing along her running mate Tim Walz. It didn’t go well. In an attempt to address her trap, she said, “My values ​​haven’t changed,” which didn’t answer the question.

It got worse a few weeks later when Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier reacted harshly, at one point exasperatedly telling a reporter, “We both know what I’m talking about,” to which Baier, speaking on behalf of millions of Americans, replied, “Actually, I don’t . 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 any questions?” I even heard it from unionists who fought for Harris in Pennsylvania. If he loses, that’s probably why.

Springfield, Ohio

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

It was classic Trump. First, he made a story about himself, echoing fellow candidate J.D. Vance’s suggestion that pets become meat, but then, when the dust settled, the story was about Springfield itself and the apparent mismanagement of its migrant asylum program, which had previously been ignored.

In Springfield, I heard from grateful citizens who were finally heard, and it resonated more widely. One woman in Bedford, Pennsylvania, told me, “I don’t worry about cats and dogs, but I do worry about 10,000 migrants being dropped off at our door.”

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Teamster snub

When the Teamsters refused to endorse Harris for president in late September, it was actually two bombshells in one. First there was the snub itself, and then internal polls showed Biden beating Trump by double digits, while Trump was beating Harris by double digits.

It was an earthquake for Democrats, who rely heavily not only on the votes of private-sector union members but also on their organizing. Around this time in Washington, I met a former Teamsters official whose contempt for Harris was so obvious and audible that a waiter had to tell us to calm down.

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This was the first major chink in Harris’s armor. From that point on, the joy and optimism that permeated her campaign turned into a darker, more terrifying message, culminating in words like “Hitler” and “fascist” making a dangerous comeback.

We will know the outcome of this election in the coming days or weeks, but whatever the outcome, it was shaped by unexpected moments that rocked the campaign and captured the attention of American voters.

Politics can reduce voters’ interest to water, but it cannot make voters drink. These five events actually made them start drinking. And for one side or the other, a bad hangover will soon come.

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