The U.S. Presidential Campaign Is Drawing to a Close

With early voting already underway, analysts are nearly unanimous in their assessment that the results are extremely uncertain. Social media is flooded with images of former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump wearing an orange fluorescent vest and at the wheel of a city sanitation truck.

Trump chose this approach in response to a statement by outgoing President Biden, who labeled Trump supporters as "trash." This remark caused a public uproar, and for days, a response from Democratic candidate Kamala Harris was eagerly awaited. However, her delay in reacting turned out to be a poor strategic move.

A few days earlier, Trump had taken a job at McDonald's, wearing the brand's distinctive apron colors while serving fries and assisting customers at the drive-thru. This was his reaction to Kamala's false claim that she had worked at McDonald's, which was intended to portray her as someone who understands the average person, supposedly setting her apart from Trump, often seen as the stereotypical New York billionaire.

Trump’s unconventional approach to connecting with voters helped him secure victory eight years ago. Polls show that the photos of him in McDonald's and wearing the sanitation vest have again given him a slight edge in surveys.

Moreover, Trump's skillful use of new media in his campaign once again proves advantageous. Just as he used Twitter in 2016 to bypass traditional media on his way to potential voters, this time he has harnessed podcasts.

Kamala Harris, on the other hand, avoided media appearances and questions entirely in the early part of her campaign, uncertain about her public image. Fox News even featured a timer on its site counting the days since her last interview with the press.

In contrast, Trump has appeared on various podcasts multiple times, with nearly all of his appearances receiving positive ratings. His guest spot on Joe Rogan's podcast gave him a clear advantage over his opponent, as Harris's campaign imposed certain conditions for her appearance (a time limit of one hour, specific recording location, etc.). The Republican candidate took the opportunity to score points by referencing the McDonald's episode: “Kamala said I only worked at McDonald's for 3 minutes. That's a full 3 minutes more than she ever did.”

Though the vast majority of public figures have rallied behind Kamala Harris, Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter (now X), has thrown his support behind Trump. Although Twitter didn't play a role in his first campaign, Musk organized an interview with Trump on X, which was watched live by more than 1.3 million users.

Interestingly, Musk was once a Democrat supporter. He's not the only surprising figure on Trump’s side, as he’s joined by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the would-be third-party candidate, son of former senator Robert Kennedy, and nephew of the 35th President John F. Kennedy. The alignment of these once-prominent Democrats not only allowed Trump to showcase broad support, but Kennedy Jr.'s statements about current Democratic leaders abandoning the party’s values from his father’s and uncle’s eras carried particular weight.

Three and a half months ago, Trump survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. The very next day, shirts bearing his image with a defiantly raised fist appeared worldwide. At the time, it was thought that this incident had decided the election in his favor. However, the assassination attempt is now nearly forgotten, as are the various court cases against him. With a few deft maneuvers, Trump managed to shift the focus of his campaign from playing the "victim" persecuted by the establishment — a theme expected to be his main message — and instead placed it on a positive track that could truly impact the election outcome.