Back in April, President Donald J. Trump paid a visit to a Harlem bodega after an appearance in court. Streets were lined with jubilant supporters chanting "Four more years!" and "Trump! Trump! Trump!"
That impromptu appearance was just the beginning. The Biden campaign clearly knew it had a problem, and promptly dispatched Biden to a Sheetz gas station in Pittsburgh. Instead of proving that Biden could compete with Trump, it showed the enthusiasm Trump can generate in traditionally Democratic areas.
Trump followed up his bodega visit with a visit to a construction site in lower Manhattan later that week before heading to court. Once again, locals showed their fervent support, cheering: "We love Trump!" and "USA! USA!"
Trump had also visited a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta, another Democratic Party stronghold, and found yet another adoring, largely minority crowd. The Biden campaign tried to compete again by sending Ol’ Joe to a Wawa, and the only people who appeared to care were the media reporters there to cover it.
Trump’s ability to generate crowds and enthusiasm continued with rallies in Wildwood, New Jersey; the Bronx; Detroit; and, this past weekend, North Philly. Once again, an overwhelmingly Democrat-voting area... and it was huge.
Related: The Biden Campaign Has Lost Everything They Had Going for It
Trump's ability to generate crowds in deep-blue areas doesn't mean he will win there. Trump won't win the Bronx, Atlanta, Detroit, or North Philly. That said, polling shows that while Trump is predictably behind Biden in New York state, Biden's lead is down to single digits there. It's a safe bet to say New York will end up in Biden's column in November as well. But, that's not what matters.
The fact is Trump is doing something that Republicans (and frankly, most Democrats) haven't done: shown up. And, as Biden’s failed campaign stops at the Wawa and Sheetz show, he can’t even dream of replicating the Trump magic.
And that's huge, and it’s clearly making an impact. Sure, it may not make New York or New Jersey red in November, but it will help make Pennsylvania red, and, as polls have shown, has helped him expand the map and be competitive in Minnesota and Virginia—two states that weren’t considered battlegrounds a month ago.
Meanwhile, as Joe Biden hopes to win Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina, you’re simply not seeing anything like what Trump is pulling off. As many have pointed out on social media, can you see Joe Biden going to deep red areas and getting the crowds Trump gets in deep blue areas?
It hasn’t happened and it won’t happen.
Joe Biden is a man who repeatedly claims to care about everyone, but doesn’t actually come through. His only message to minority voters is to repeat tired old allegations that Trump is racist, but he can’t convince these voters that a vote for Biden is a vote for prosperity for them.
Trump’s success in holding massive rallies in deep blue areas humiliates Joe Biden on his home turf, and sends the message to typically Democrat constituencies that it’s okay to support Trump.
