Trump team prepares for sprint to November with ‘all hands on deck’ approach
Sources familiar with this strategy change told CNN that Donald Trump’s campaign is aiming to maintain the pace set by a week-long counterprogramming of events, and to take the spotlight away from his opponent. They plan to increase the former president’s schedule, improve his debate skills, and develop a new strategy based on early voting states.
This new approach acknowledges that Trump’s campaign struggled to adapt after Joe Biden, who ended his campaign just four months before Election Day, to the rapidly changing political landscape.
Trump’s future schedule will be more like that of the last week, when the Republican candidate visited a new battleground every day. It will also look different from the previous 20 months. One adviser predicted that Trump would hold “several, if no daily, events” through November. Another said the former president would regularly visit two states per day.
One person said, “Think Trump boosted.” “It will be all hands on board.”
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Trump’s increased schedule coincides with his preparations for the debate he will have on September 10th, where he will be facing Vice President Kamala Harris.
In advance of this high-stakes debate, the former president has been meeting quietly with Republican lawmakers and policy experts as well as outside allies. Sources familiar with the meetings said that the “policy discussion” – the Trump campaign version of debate preparation – resembled the sessions held by the former president in the weeks before his debate with Biden on June 27, according to CNN.
It won’t change this time. It worked for him the last time. “If it’s not broken, don’t change it,” said a Trump advisor.
The adviser said that Trump is not a fan of traditional debate preparation and has claimed he does not need to engage in formal preparation such as mock debates. Instead, he prefers to learn about his opponent in a casual setting and refine his message.
Tulsi Gabrield, a former Hawaii representative, is one example of a person who has worked with Trump in the background to understand Harris’ style of debate.
Gabbard is one of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates who took on Harris in the debate. Trump’s advisors believe Gabbard attacked then-Sen. Harris, particularly her prosecutorial record. This helped to undermine Harris’ campaign.
CNN reported that while Trump’s campaign was expected to ramp up after the conventions as well, the increased pace for the next few weeks is far beyond what had been planned. It is also a response to Democrats’ enthusiasm since Harris has replaced Biden at the top of their ticket. Trump’s week-long schedule is a good example.
The former president will speak at the National Guard Association conference in Detroit on Monday. On Thursday, he’ll travel to Michigan and give a speech about the economy, before attending a town-hall in Wisconsin the same evening. He will speak at a “Joyful Warriors Summit” in Washington, DC, on Friday.
Trump pollsters Tony Fabrizio, and Travis Tunis, released a memo on Saturday, predicting an increase in Harris’ poll numbers after the convention. Fabrizio blamed it mostly on positive media coverage.
The memo stated that “the other thing we should keep in mind is while the media will focus on national polls, it is important that we keep an eye on the ball – that is, the polling in the target states.” Our goal is to reach 270, and this is what we will do by winning these states.
Trump’s accelerated campaign schedule follows a difficult stretch in his campaign. The former president’s unpredictability in response to the sudden change of opponent triggered a discussion about the new strategy. Close allies warned Trump to avoid personal attacks in favor of focusing on policy and encouraged him to be more visible to voters.
Republicans were sometimes puzzled by his choices of venues for events, such as visiting a deeply red state like Montana or a solidly blue one like New Jersey. He also left gaps of up to a month between visits in certain states.
CNN reported that Trump’s team now sees the period following the Democratic National Convention (DNC) as a sprint towards November. Former president’s team has recently bolstered its political operation with the addition of new advisers. Among them is Trump’s 2016 first campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.
Trump will now focus on the battleground states where early voting will be available in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and other states that are leaning towards one side or another, like Minnesota and Florida. Trump’s campaign plans to increase its presence on the ground, and to use surrogates for voter mobilization events.
Trump will hold smaller events, in addition to the larger rallies he held last week. These events are expected to be centered around tailored messages. The hope is that these guardrails can help the campaign focus on their candidate. These stops, unlike Trump’s day-long rallies in large venues, will be held in smaller, more intimate settings with fewer attendees and, many of Trump’s allies hope, a sharper focus.
Those efforts were not without their limitations, however, which became more apparent over the course of last week. The former president’s tendency to deviate from the script and air grievances has been acknowledged by those who know him best for a long time.
CNN reported that a Trump ally said, “He is 78 and not someone who can be easily controlled.”
Trump asked the audience during a North Carolina stop, which was billed as an address on national security if they preferred that he continue to insult his opponents or stay on policy. Trump made fun of his own team when it became apparent that they preferred to insult their opponents.
He joked: “My advisors are fired.” Then he added, “Nah. We’d prefer to keep it in policy. But sometimes it’s difficult when you’re being attacked from every angle.”
Trump’s Michigan speech focused on public safety. He continued to attack Harris without mentioning the policies his team shared with reporters before his remarks. This included a proposal for child rapists or traffickers to be executed. A campaign official responded that Trump was saving the new policies he had announced during his campaign until after the Democratic National Convention.
The week-long events were one of the busiest periods of Trump’s third White House campaign. Trump’s campaign schedule has been remarkably light since he effectively wrapped up the GOP nomination at the end of March. He holds one or two rallies per week, and spends long periods away from the public eye.
Trump’s schedule didn’t seem to be a problem.
