“It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World” is a favorite of Donald Trump. He plays the James Brown and Pavarotti duet to show off his new sound system aboard Trump Force One and it’s a staple on the pre-rally playlist.
But when Brown delivered the opening line Wednesday night, “This is a man’s world,” it took on even more meaning.
Joe Biden was out of the race and Trump now had to deal with a female opponent, just like in 2016.
With a pre-meeting playlist full of old-school ideas of masculinity (think ’70s and ’80s guitars and Kid Rock songs about sleeping with “whores”), the message was clear: I am the leader who will deliver strength.
Trump appeared at his first rally since Biden overturned the election on Sunday. Supporters at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, were the first to see what that meant for his rally speeches.
Donald Trump enters Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, for his first campaign rally since Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race
Aides, quietly pleased by the unrest among Democrats eating away at their own party but wary of a new opponent 20 years their senior, say business as usual.
Trump continues to rail against the administration’s record of high prices and immigration crisis.
“I mean, in terms of the message, nothing has changed,” said spokesman Steven Cheung, who was sitting with reporters in the press room just before Trump took the stage.
“You know, we’re still campaigning against the policy. We’re still campaigning against the Biden Harris administration. Nothing has changed.”
And yet everything has changed, as revealed three minutes later on the big screen (which normally shows the scores of the American Hockey League’s Charlotte Checkers).
There she was. The new opponent, her four-foot-tall face in a montage of clips in which she promises to ban offshore drilling, mumbles and hesitates about visiting the border, and says she supports public health access for undocumented immigrants.
“This is the person the Democrats impeached Joe Biden for,” reads the opening title of the 90-second video.
“Failed, weak and dangerously liberal,” is the conclusion.
The result was about 12,000 people booing. It was a sound that would have set off a tsunami warning in Japan, not in one of the key election battlegrounds that could decide the 2024 election.
Trump spoke for 92 minutes, giving Kamala Harris his full attention
The view from the press pen. Cameras mounted on a platform at the back of the arena capture the sights and sounds of more than 12,000 fans on Wednesday night
Trump’s Georgia arrest photo was everywhere, on signs and T-shirts. “I’d rather vote for a felon than a donkey,” was spotted on one man’s T-shirt
It set the tone for Trump’s 92-minute speech.
He showed no signs of the aftermath of the shooting just 10 days earlier. Where he had cut a tearful figure at the Republican convention last week, grateful for the response to the attempted assassination, he quickly vowed on Wednesday night that there would be no more Mr. Nice Guy.
“I’m not going to be nice,” he said, then spent the rest of his speech trashing his new rival.
He portrayed her as Biden’s border czar (in reality, she was tasked by the president with tackling the root causes of immigration in a handful of Latin American countries and had nothing to do with the border itself) who would allow millions of migrants into the country if she were president.
“Kamala’s deadly destruction of America’s borders is completely and utterly disqualifying,” he said. “She should not be running for president with what she has done.”
He brought along guests representing police officers and border patrol, to make the point that even a criminal can be tougher on crime and immigration than Harris.
He called her the most radical, liberal lawmaker in Washington and accused the “lying Kamala” of playing a key role in hiding Biden’s decline in the country.
“In addition to a horrific record as vice president, Kamala Harris has also been caught red-handed, creating the biggest scandal in American political history,” he said.
‘For three and a half years, Harris blatantly lied to the public to cover up Joe Biden’s mental incapacity by denying that corrupt Joe was at the absolute peak of his powers. I don’t think so.’
Trump’s campaign must deal with a change in opponent. Biden is out. Harris is in.
The Colosseum’s capacity is 9,000 for sporting events, but more people filled the floor
Supporters queued for hours in the scorching heat to get a spot in the arena
The crowd loved it. Just like a WWE fight, there were moments to boo the bad guys and cheer the good guys.
One man wore a T-shirt that read, “I’d rather vote for a criminal than a donkey.”
Trump was done well before 8 p.m., just in time to board his jet and watch Biden’s speech from the Oval Office, in which he explained why he would not seek re-election.
But for all the joy over Biden’s elimination, there was a tinge of concern in the audience. Could a younger female candidate excite Democrats in a way that an older man couldn’t?
James Brown may sing that it’s a man’s world, but his next line is, “It’d be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl.”
Frank Farmer, 30, who owns two businesses, including one that makes ammunition boxes, was less positive about Harris.
“I think she’s a little stronger, but she’s so brainless that it doesn’t make much difference,” he said.
He explained that she might be able to attract more women and black voters than Biden… before his friend interrupted him.
“And she has slightly fewer cognitive challenges,” the friend said with a grin.