Soon after Joe Biden dropped out and Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee, she started raising huge amounts of money, and it looks like once again Trump's campaign will be at a cash disadvantage in the final weeks of the campaign. So why, do you ask, has he been visiting blue states and holding rallies? Rallies cost money to hold, and then there's the fact that the time spent there could be better spent elsewhere. But, there may be a very solid explanation for this strategy.
On Saturday, for example, Trump held a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch, in Coachella, Calif.
"I stand before you today in the heart of the majestic Coachella Valley, to declare that the Republican Party will always put America first and lead us on to victories like you have never seen before," Trump said in his speech. "Because we've become the party of common sense."
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"The radical left Democrats have destroyed this state, but we are going to save it," he added. "And we're going to make it better than ever before."
"I've come here today not only to talk about California, where you have one of the worst governors in the country, Gavin Newsom, but you definitely had somebody here that was horrible – Kamala. ... And now she wants to destroy our country. She wants to destroy our country like she did San Francisco."
Earlier in the day, Trump held a rally in Aurora, Colorado—his first stop in the state during this campaign. Aurora has been in the spotlight recently after a viral video showed armed illegal immigrants seizing control of an apartment building, raising concerns over lawlessness and border security.
“No person who has inflicted the violence and terror that Kamala Harris has inflicted on this community can ever be allowed to become the president of the United States,” Trump said.
Trump is also reportedly planning a massive rally in Madison Square Garden at the end of October.
Now, conventional wisdom is that Trump won't win any of these states. Of the three, his best chance is likely in Colorado, and the latest poll out of Colorado—a Morning Consult poll from last month—had Kamala up ten points.
So, what's Trump playing at? Why is he spending money, time, and other resources in these states? Is Trump thinking he can win these states? Publicly, he may be saying so, but I suspect this is less about winning these states and more about boosting turnout in blue states to help Trump win the national popular vote.
But, who cares about the national popular vote when the Electoral College decides the president?
Well, think about it. Trump won in 2016 without winning the national popular vote, and that really got the anti-Electoral College movement revved up. If Trump wins both of his elections without the national popular vote, you can bet the movement to abolish the Electoral College will be even more resolved to make their goal a reality.
Heck, Gov. Tim Walz said as much last week.
“I think all of us know the Electoral College needs to go,” Walz said at a private fundraiser at Gov. Gavin Newsom's home. “We need a national popular vote."
Democrats know that the Electoral College is a problem for them, especially as blue states are losing population to red states, and the red states are gaining influence in the Electoral College. Can Trump win the national popular vote? The latest NBC News poll put the national vote at a dead heat. So, that suggests he can.
So, Trump's efforts to campaign in blue states may be part of a larger strategy aimed at preserving the Electoral College by weakening the movement to dismantle it.
