newYou can now listen to Fox News articles.
“The next time I see a political ad, I swear I’m going to throw my phone at the TV,” Gary told me as we perused the menu at a restaurant in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Anyone who lives here knows exactly what he’s like. I’m talking about.
Living in a swing state is a privilege, but as the saying goes, with privilege comes responsibility. In this case, there’s a tsunami of TV and radio ads, billboards and billboards everywhere, roads blocked by convoys of cars, and yes, even annoying columnists from all over the country. An outlet to stick a pen into you and your thoughts.
I’m tired. In fact, the owner of a fun restaurant called Blended was somewhere between laughing and crying when he got the notice that former President Donald Trump would be appearing at the PPL Center just down the street on Tuesday, Oct. 29. .
Voter registration data in key battleground states shows influential shifts in favor of Republicans
“Oh, it just shuts everything down,” Eric told me. But accepting the reality of running a business in the epicenter of presidential politics, he just called it a night.
Voters in Allentown, Pennsylvania, are exhausted by political campaigning, but they know what they want from candidates. File: Allentown seen from the Tillman Street Bridge. (Charles Crates)
In some ways, he’s a symbol of the town made famous by Billy Joel’s 1980s ballads about economic decline.
Eight years ago, Eric was living on the streets, addicted to meth, just a few blocks away, and metaphorically miles away from being a successful small businessman.
Likewise, Allentown is no longer the dark, dirty town that used to extract all its coal from the ground. In its place is a clean, sparkling city where old stone buildings, monuments of industrial power, stand proudly and beautifully.
This prosperity was also common in my travels to Pennsylvania, a crisis swing state where most voters I talk to are driven not by economic insecurity. , it’s a bigger problem.
“I just hope that whoever wins will put the country before themselves,” Eric said, and Henry, Matt, and Zeke, all in their 20s, nodded in agreement. They all plan to vote, but no one seems keen to discuss race, in part because no one wants to talk much about Hitler or whether or not he is a modern manifestation of Hitler.
Journalist Mark Halperin also just found this attitude in a focus group in the Keystone State, where one man on the panel said he leans toward Trump because “Democrats and the left are always going to square up to Hitler on everything.” He added: It’s very tiring…I think it’s so hyperbolic that it makes it impossible to have a good argument and it kills the discussion. ”
He should have come blended, he would have fit right in.
The fatigue that Halperin and I are hearing on the ground in Pennsylvania creates unique late-game challenges for both the Harris and Trump campaigns, and overcoming them requires excitement about the candidates. This is a product that Trump is swimming in, but one that Harris is crucially lacking.
Harris will speak alongside CNN’s Anderson Cooper at a town hall event in Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Instead of excitement, Vice President Kamala Harris is stoking anger and fear, sounding the same tired and overused alarm bells about President Trump’s alleged fascism, which is currently creating more than a headache for voters.
For more FOX News opinions, click here
Six months ago, President Joe Biden’s campaign told President Joe Biden’s campaign that the race in Pennsylvania was not about high prices or economic hardship, but rather about who would be a better steward of the country, especially during a time of global crisis. If I had told them that this would be an issue, they would have said, Biden did a backflip as he ran in a circle around them.
But against Harris, Trump is winning the battle over who is the stronger, better, more authentic leader.
Kenny moved to Allentown from Brooklyn, New York about six years ago. When I asked him why, he said: “Life brought me here.”
This prosperity was also common in my travels to Pennsylvania, a crisis swing state where most voters I talk to are driven not by economic insecurity. , it’s a bigger problem.
We reminisced a little about Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst and remembered how much we missed Gotham. He’s a Democrat and wants Harris to win, but when I asked him if he thought she would win, he twisted his face a little, sighed slightly, and said, “I don’t know, it doesn’t look good.” Said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Here in Pennsylvania, I agree. That doesn’t seem to be good for her, and if Harris can’t come up with a message that doesn’t involve swastikas or concentration camps, things aren’t going to get better for her anytime soon.
And soon, her time will be over.
Click here to read more about David Marcus
