Presidential campaign enters final week with big rallies
The race is still tied nationally and in the swing states, where the candidates are spending time
What happened
Kamala Harris kicked off the weekend discussing reproductive rights before a crowd of 30,000 in Houston and Donald Trump capped it with a rally Sunday night before a capacity crowd of nearly 20,000 fans in New York's Madison Square Garden. With eight days to go, the race is essentially tied nationally and in the battleground states, where the two candidates spent the bulk of the weekend.
Who said what
Trump's 78-minute speech in Manhattan was billed as the "closing message of his campaign," The New York Times said, but by the time he spoke, two hours later than scheduled, it "had instead become a carnival of grievances, misogyny and racism." The rally opened with comedian Tony Hinchcliffe joking that Latinos "love making babies," with a crude line about not using birth control, and another calling Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage."
Hinchcliffe also mocked Jews as cheap and Palestinians as rock-throwers and joked about Black people carving watermelons for Halloween, but it was his digs at Puerto Ricans — a sizable voting bloc in Pennsylvania — that got swift and bipartisan blowback. Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny posted both Hinchcliffe's jokes and Harris' outreach to Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia earlier in the day, throwing his support behind the Democratic candidate. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony posted similar comments to their large social media followings.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Trump rally versus Harris outreach was a "split screen the Harris campaign welcomed," Adam Wren said at Politico. "If Donald Trump loses on Nov. 5, the racist carnival he curated at Madison Square Garden could be remembered as the day that cost him this margin-of-error election."
Even the "normally pugnacious Trump campaign took the rare step of distancing itself from Hinchcliffe," The Associated Press said, saying his Puerto Rican joke "does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign." But "other speakers also made incendiary comments," including a Trump childhood friend calling Harris "the Antichrist" and "the devil," and a businessman suggesting she was a prostitute with "pimp handlers."
What next?
Both parties "saw the night as a win," Shelby Talcott said at Semafor. Republicans pointed to the huge media coverage for Trump's message on immigration and the economy in the packed "iconic venue" in a blue state, while Democrats highlighted the dark vitriol and "crude and offensive" insults to key blocs of voters.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
'Commentators close to the Palestinian rights movement have feared exactly this scenario'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Homebuyers are older than ever
The Explainer Rising prices and high mortgages have boxed millennials out of the market
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Australia proposes social media ban before age 16
Speed Read Australia proposes social media ban before age 16
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Commentators close to the Palestinian rights movement have feared exactly this scenario'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Judge revives plea deal for 9/11 suspects
Speed Read A military judge has ruled to restore the plea deals struck by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-conspirators
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Harris concedes as world prepares for Trump's return
Speed Read Vice President Kamala Harris told supporters it was important to 'accept the results of this election'
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How did Trump shift voters to the right and win?
Today's Big Question Latino voters led a national shift to the right
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How do presidential transitions work?
The Explainer Donald Trump will take office on Jan. 20 after a two-month process
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Abortion rights measures go 7 for 10
Speed Read Constitutional amendments to protect abortion passed in seven states but failed in three others: Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'The first order of business is to redouble every effort to preserve American democracy'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Netanyahu fires defense minister, sparking protests
Speed Read Yoav Gallant and Netanyahu have clashed for years. The Israeli prime minister first tried to fire the defense minister in 2023, but backed off following a public outcry.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published