Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a sharp quip during a Wisconsin rally, targeting one of former President Donald Trump’s sore spots: his crowd sizes. According to New York Times reporter Lulu Garcia-Navarro, this strategy is exactly what Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, should be doing as the 2024 election nears.
The exchange occurred when MAGA hecklers interrupted Harris at the rally, prompting her to respond with humor: “Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally. No, I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street.”
Garcia-Navarro, speaking on CNN’s OutFront with Erin Burnett, praised Harris’s quick-witted response. “I think when you have hecklers, she did it with a sense of humor,” she said. “She did it with a quip and she tried to punch where it hurts Trump the most – which is his crowd size – she did it in the debate and he rose to the bait.”
The crowd size issue has long been a point of pride for Trump, who often boasts about the numbers at his rallies and events. Harris’s jab directly targeted this vulnerability, echoing previous moments where Trump’s fixation on attendance numbers became a talking point, including during the 2020 debates.
Garcia-Navarro, who hosts a podcast for The New York Times and is a CNN contributor, noted that these kinds of moments are crucial with less than three weeks until Election Day. “She should be trying to drive the news cycle,” Garcia-Navarro explained. “She should be getting people talking about her. There are no big moments left, and so this is the kind of thing that she does well.”
Harris’s approach is part of a broader strategy to engage voters and create viral moments that draw attention to her campaign. In a race as close as this one, every opportunity to shift the narrative or land a memorable punch counts. According to Garcia-Navarro, Harris’s ability to use humor and timing to needle Trump on something he holds dear—like his crowd size—demonstrates her political savvy.
During the segment on OutFront, Burnett and Garcia-Navarro discussed the importance of seizing attention as the campaign heads into its final stretch. With fewer opportunities left for major events or debates, moments like Harris’s at the Wisconsin rally become key for keeping the Democratic ticket in the spotlight.
Garcia-Navarro emphasized that creating such moments is a crucial part of modern campaigning, especially in an election where social media and sound bites can dominate the conversation. By taking a lighthearted but pointed shot at Trump’s crowd size, Harris not only diffused a potentially disruptive moment but also put Trump on the defensive—a tactic that has worked well for her in the past.
In a tight race, these kinds of moments can shift momentum, and Harris’s ability to keep Trump off balance with humor and precision could help energize her base. As Garcia-Navarro put it, “This is the kind of thing she does well,” and it’s exactly what the campaign needs in the final weeks leading up to Election Day.