As the 2024 presidential campaign heats up, the back-and-forth between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump has intensified, with each candidate taking jabs at the other’s rally attendance. Harris’s campaign fired back at Trump following his claims that her Michigan rally was poorly attended, suggesting that he might lack the energy to keep pace with her campaign efforts.
On Truth Social, Trump asserted that “nobody” showed up to Harris’ rally and posted a disputed image of a crowd at an airport, labeling it as “fake.” He went so far as to claim, “Kamala CHEATED at the airport,” positing that she had doctored the image to show a large crowd that didn’t actually exist. He even suggested that a maintenance worker exposed the alleged deception based on a reflection he noticed.
In response, the Harris campaign promptly addressed Trump’s assertions on X, stating, “1) This is an actual photo of a 15,000-person crowd for Harris-Walz in Michigan 2) Trump has still not campaigned in a swing state in over a week… Low energy?”
Carlos Osorio/AP
Reports estimate that around 15,000 supporters welcomed Harris and her running mate Tim Walz at Detroit Metropolitan Airport her recent rally.
Hany Farid, a UC Berkeley professor specializing in digital forensics, examined the contested image and shared his findings on LinkedIn. He concluded that his analysis showed no evidence of the image being AI-generated or altered, stating, “While the lack of evidence of manipulation is not evidence the image is real, we find no signs that this image was digitally altered.”
The Harris campaign further pushed back against the attacks by sharing a video capturing the lively crowd at the rally, stating, “In case you forgot @realdonaldtrump: This is what a rally in a swing state looks like.”
Throughout this election cycle, the Harris campaign has been actively touring swing states, with rallies held in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada. Although plans were made for stops in Georgia and North Carolina, they were canceled due to severe weather from Storm Debby.
Interestingly, reports suggest that Trump has only conducted one rally so far in August, with no additional ones scheduled until after the Democratic National Convention, which wraps up on August 22.
Recent polling indicates that Harris currently leads Trump by four percentage points in critical states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, polling at 50% to Trump’s 46% among likely voters in those regions.