Former President Donald Trump has seen a major surge in support from voters nationwide over the past week, even in solid Democrat strongholds like Manhattan.
The recent Vice Presidential debate on October 1 appears to have given Trump's campaign a much-needed boost against his Democrat opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Last Tuesday, the Trump supporters waiting to greet his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), held up signs and cheered as the senator arrived at the CBS-moderated debate.
Harris' Vice Presidential pick, Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), appeared rather unprepared for the debate with Vance, despite biased attempts by CBS moderators to give him the edge.
I met with Nathaniel Gavronsky, campaign manager for Mike Zumbluskas, the Republican Congressional candidate running against Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), outside the debate at CBS News headquarters on the West Side of Manhattan.
"It was inspirational to see so many younger people out there supporting the Trump Campaign. Men and women from all walks of life were gathering up in Manhattan to show support for Trump and Vance. It's now about making sure people know they can vote down the ticket and put Republicans in office all over New York City," said Gavronsky.
Speaking with others who attended the rally outside the debate, disenchantment with the Democrat establishment's far-left policies has pushed many fed-up voters in heavily liberal NYC to actively support Trump in 2024.
The enthusiasm was even wilder on October 5, as Trump returned to the scene of the rally where he was shot in the infamous failed attempt on his life, in Butler, Pa.
An enormous crowd of over 105,000 people gathered on those same fairgrounds where the tragic scene in Butler took place, according to Trump campaign estimates. This time, the Secret Service was able to protect the former President at his return rally without incident after the two attempted assassination attempts against him.
Vance, fresh from his solid debate performance only a few nights before, rallied the crowd.
“Now, 84 days ago, of course, on this very field, an assassin tried to fill our hearts with terror, but we’re here to say we can’t be intimidated. We cannot be stopped. We won’t be denied. We will make America great again, and we’re going to do it together,” said Vance.
Trump was also joined by billionaire CEO Elon Musk, who has become an outspoken supporter of the former President. The owner of Tesla and Space X jumped wildly as he came on the stage, telling rallygoers to vote for Trump on Election Day, or it "will be the last election” they will see if they don't.
“This is a must-win situation. Must-win,” said Musk, who added, “So I have one ask for everyone in the audience, everyone who watches this video, everyone on the live stream. It’s this one request. It’s very important: Register to vote.”
Only 28% of Americans currently think the country is on the right track, according to a recent CNN poll, which coincides with similar results from a separate Rasmussen poll. These two recent polls suggest that Trump may actually have a lead over Harris, as Election Day on November 5 nears.