Democrats haven’t been this fired up about a presidential candidate since Obama, and the Harris campaign is racing to capitalize on the momentum: hiring veteran ad-maker Jim Margolis, doubling down on TikTok (where Kamala is approaching Trump-level virality), and leaning into the J.D. Vance creep factor.
Put another way, a couple million Americans woke up last week, looked at their phones, and said, Holy shit, we can actually win this thing. Instead of preparing for a living wake, or a week of protests, I’m told that Democrats and their donors are now hastily planning new parties, activities, and concerts in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention in a few weeks. Yes, Democrats still have work to do. The campaign is stressing that they are still the underdog. But now at least, there’s a feeling they’re going to have some fun in the process.
You’ve probably read about all the markers of Kamala-mentum. The campaign cash, the Brat clips, a bonanza of volunteers coming out of the woodwork in battleground states. The Harris campaign is in the process of assembling a field army of several hundred thousand new volunteers, dwarfing the “tens of thousands” of Trump volunteers that his campaign hyped to Fox News over the weekend (but that do not really exist).
Survey data supports the buzz.
Meanwhile the Trump campaign is getting ready to spend a fortune on anti-Harris TV ads.
Gen Z: “What’s TV?”
Millennials: “It’s like TikTok except it’s that box sitting in your uncle’s study.”
Harris’ rallies feature her speeches that are no longer than 20 minutes, most between 15 and 20. Only one person introduces her and that speaker is limited to 3 minutes. She makes her points, asks for donations, and gets off the platform to cheers
Meanwhile, Trump is introduced by a gang of admirers who speak for around 30 minutes, then, he raves for and hour and a half — 90 minutes — easily two hours total. No wonder video of his rallies show the crowd leaving 30 minutes into his rant.