It wasn't all that long ago that Kamala Harris was claiming that Donald Trump supporters were walking out of his rallies early, because, they claimed, they were getting bored of his longwinded speeches.
Leaving a rally because it went on longer than you planned it to is one thing, but you know what's worse? People going to a Harris rally and leaving before she even speaks.
On Thursday evening, Kamala had a rally in Georgia, which featured Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen, and Samuel L. Jackson. Once Obama and Springsteen had their time on stage, attendees started leaving as Kamala was speaking.
Vice President Kamala Harris brought in some of the biggest political and entertainment superstars in the world Thursday night for a rally in Georgia.
But after hours waiting in line and standing in the sun, hundreds of fans headed for the exits before the Democratic presidential nominee’s remarks.
Harris appeared on stage with former President Barack Obama for the first time in the 2024 campaign season at the rally in the suburbs of the critical swing state.
A win in Georgia is critical for either Harris or Trump on the path to winning what could be one of the closest presidential elections in history on November 5.
After Obama spoke, Harris took the stage, but her usual walk-on song did not play, leaving the 60-year-old to enter without the same energy seen at other rallies.
While the vast majority of attendees in the stadium remained, dozens of people were spotted exiting the bleachers as she spoke in the way baseball fans head for the exits of a blowout in the late innings to avoid traffic.
Here's a video of rally attendees leaving as Kamala spoke.
Everybody left Kamala's rally after Bruce Springsteen and Barack Hussein Obama were done.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 25, 2024
Not a great look!pic.twitter.com/8JRtLA7yvx
While it's hard to say for sure how many people left, one estimate, based on visual evidence, puts the number at about a third of attendees bailing on Kamala.
Lmfao about 1/3rd of the crowd at Kamala's rally dipped after Bruce Springsteen was done playing.
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 25, 2024
Fakest presidential campaign of all time.pic.twitter.com/bgFxTB5MMR
A key part of the Harris-Walz campaign's strategy in the final weeks has been to rely on the star power of Obama and Hollywood celebrities to boost attendance and interest; however, this strategy can backfire spectacularly if people are only coming for a free concert.
I don't know how much Springsteen tickets go for these days, but I imagine decent seats would set you back a couple hundred bucks each. So it's a no-brainer that if you're a Springsteen fan you'd jump at the chance to get a free show and then bail when the "headliner," Harris, takes the stage and ruins your concert buzz.
Perhaps even more devastating for Kamala is that her reliance on celebrities in the final push of her campaign feels like an echo of Hillary Clinton back in 2016.
"With 11 days to go, I got to tell you, to this reporter, it feels a little familiar because I remember these scenes from 2016 when Hillary Clinton rallied in Philadelphia with Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen," CNN host Kasie Hunt said. "That event was basically a victory rally that was held before all the votes were cast and we all know how it turned out."
"Now in 2024, despite all of that, the race is tied and the echo is unmistakable," Hunt said after showing a clip of Hillary Clinton telling CNN in a previous interview that she tried to warn the country about the danger of Trump in 2016.
"I think he’s more unhinged, more unstable," Clinton said of Trump during an interview with CNN host Kaitlan Collins that aired Thursday night. "I think you see that all the time in both his rallies and his kind of word-salad-after-word-salad speeches."
Springsteen spoke out in support of Harris at Thursday's campaign rally.
"Kamala Harris. She's running to be the 47th President of the United States. Donald Trump is running to be an American tyrant," Springsteen said. "He does not understand this country, its history or what it means to be deeply American."
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