There are rumors that he is “exhausted,” but Trump is outpacing Harris in rallies and interviews

Former President Donald Trump is beating back rumors and reports of exhaustion in the final stretch of his re-election campaign with a rigorous schedule of in-person rallies and interviews that has far outpaced his much younger Democratic opponent.

Politics Friday’s headline read:An ‘exhausted’ Trump says no to another interview”. The article pointed out that Trump withdrew from an interview with The shadow room and quoted anonymous “people familiar with the conversations” in reporting that a “Trump adviser” had said Trump was “exhausted” and “declined (some) interviews.”

The story further pointed out Trump’s cancellation of other interviews this week, including with CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” which the campaign blamed on a scheduling conflict. A Trump campaign official confirmed this Just the news that it never set or discussed a date for when it would be released The shadow room and that it also had a scheduling conflict that precluded a separate NBC appearance.

Three times as many interviews

Concerns about age and ability to handle the rigors of office proved fatal to the political career of President Joe Biden, 81, whose performance in a debate against Trump this year renewed criticism of his age and mental competency flared up and eventually prompted him to step aside.

At 78, Trump also faced some questions about his age and mental acuity, although not to a comparable extent. Last month, Axios published an article highlighting that Trump had held fewer rallies per month compared to his 2016 cycle. One of the contributing factors, the outlet claimed, was that “he’s older.”

The Trump campaign firmly denies such claims. “This is unequivocally false,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump Campaign national press secretary Just the news of the Politics article. “President Trump has been running circles around Kamala Harris during the campaign, conducting nearly three times as many interviews as she has, including a controversial interview with Bloomberg this past week, which Kamala rejected. President Trump has more energy and a harder work ethic than anyone in politics.”

Indeed, there is plenty in Trump’s active campaign schedule to contrast that of Vice President Harris, 59.

Rally frequency

Since being nominated for the Republican Party in mid-July, Trump has held at least 41 conventional rallies — one at which he narrowly missed being felled by an assassin’s bullet — in every battleground state, including several weeks in which he held two or more performed as headliner. more events. That figure includes joint appearances such as his meetings with Turning Point, but excludes media hits.

Harris, on the other hand, became the Democratic nominee in early August and has held at least fourteen conventional rallies since then. Trump held five rallies between his confirmation as the Republican Party’s nominee and Harris’ ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket.

By comparison, Trump has held at least 36 rallies to Harris’ 16 since she became the Democratic nominee. Both figures include weekend appearances by both candidates. Trump held rallies in Detroit, Michigan; and Latrobe and Lancaster, Pennsylvania; while Harris appeared in Detroit, Michigan; and Atlanta, Georgia.

83 interviews compared to 44

Apart from the standard meetings, both campaigns have of course appeared numerous times in traditional media, as well as on podcasts, video platforms and in other media. A Wall Street Journal The breakdown of their respective performances also showed that Trump once again surpassed Harris in virtually all media.

On July 15, Trump appeared 28 times on what the channel called “Legacy TV,” compared to Harris’ 12 since August 6. In those intervals, Trump made ten radio appearances to Harris’ seven. Trump went on to make ten print appearances for her two, seven podcast hits for her two, and appear in an X space. Both made three video appearances.

Additionally, a Fox News Rolling List of Interviews tracks the combined interviews of both the leading candidates and their running mates. Since the creation of the Harris-Walz ticket in August, Harris and Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., have conducted at least 44 unscripted interviews together. Trump and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, have now carried out at least 83.

Press conferences: Harris hasn’t held any yet

Trump has held at least six press conferences since early August answering questions from the media, while Harris has not held a single formal press conference in her capacity as a candidate, according to Fox News.

While she has made comments and updates on hurricane relief and other issues in her official capacity as vice president, she has kept questions limited in those cases.

Despite her recent “media blitz” in which she appeared on a series of friendly podcasts and programs, some media insiders do not expect Harris to hold a formal press conference before the end of the election cycle.

Speaking to Fox News: Conservative Radio Libre host Jorge Bonilla said it was “highly unlikely” that Harris would host such an event “because the media has enabled and encouraged her ‘plexiglass basement’ strategy.”

Just the news has sought comment from the Harris campaign, which did not respond by press time.