As I begin this article, it's a sobering thought to realize that the 2024 presidential election is a mere 62 days away. It's even more sobering to think that a substantial number of votes will be cast before Election Day arrives, as Kamala Harris continues to refuse to do press conferences and release details of her policies.
So as the campaign enters its final weeks, Team Trump said in a Tuesday press release that it intends to increasingly turn to the use of surrogates to expand its presence on the ground in swing states, as it announced “the most extensive surrogate operation in the history of presidential politics.”
Trump Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said:
President Trump is supported by an impressive array of exceptionally talented individuals who bring different expertise and backgrounds to the table. We look forward to deploying these surrogates across the country to meet with voters and relay President Trump's vision to Make America Strong, Safe, and Prosperous Again.
While the campaign made it clear that Trump will continue to remain committed to his usual rallies, the next of which will take place on Saturday in Mosinee, Wisconsin, this week’s policy events follow the former president's recent trend of increasingly deploying off-ticket Republicans to expand the campaign’s efforts to counter Democrat efforts.
Here's more:
Amid the Democratic National Convention, the Trump team orchestrated a week of counterprogramming that similarly employed high-profile Republicans. During that week, the campaign staged daily press conferences at Trump Tower in Chicago in which figures such as tech mogul and former 2024 GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States Carlos Trujillo, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, and Florida Reps. Michael Waltz and Byron Donalds, all Republicans, excoriated the Biden administration on policy.
In addition, as RedState reported in late August, Trump added former 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and 2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard to his transition team.
Former President Trump has tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) to his transition team, bringing both aboard in formal roles on the heels of their endorsements.
“As President Trump’s broad coalition of supporters and endorsers expands across partisan lines, we are proud that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard have been added to the Trump/Vance Transition team,” senior campaign adviser Brian Hughes said in a statement. “We look forward to having their powerful voices on the team as we work to restore America’s greatness.”
Smart move? You bet.
Read More:
A True Unity Ticket? Trump Adds RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard to Transition Team
This week, the Trump campaign will hold at least three Trump-less events as part of its Agenda 47 tour.
Agenda 47 is the Trump campaign’s official policy agenda, though the Trump team has previously given relatively little attention to the official branding of its platform. At one point, Agenda 47 largely consisted of a series of policy videos that Trump himself posted to his Truth Social.
Agenda 47 has been expanded to include, but not limited to, focus on declaring war on the drug cartels, ending homelessness for veterans, the end of "welfare" for illegal aliens, revolutionizing higher education, returning production of essential medications to the U.S., and rebuilding the U.S. military.
The campaign's increasing use of surrogates is also due to its concern with the continuing Democrat effort to tie Trump to Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation plan that was developed to provide an incoming Trump administration with a list of policies to implement to bring down costs and realign government operations. Trump has made it clear for over a year that the project should not be associated with him or his campaign "in any way."
— Chris LaCivita (@LaCivitaC) July 30, 2024
Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita insisted in July that the authors of Project 2025 “do not speak for the campaign."
Trump Surrogates Have Been Off to the Races, and There's More to Come
On Tuesday, the campaign held events in Arizona and. The Peach State tour stop featured Scott, Missouri Rep. Jason Smith, also a Republican, former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and former Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon.
The Georgia event saw the participants meet with small business owners and largely address Trump’s economic policies and his plans to address inflation.
McMahon and Lighthizer, in particular, were key players in Trump’s first term in managing economic initiatives. Lighthizer was notably a leading figure in Trump’s landmark trade deal, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
In Arizona, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, former California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado and Arizona Rep. Eli Crane, all Republicans, made appearances. The group largely discussed Trump’s plans to curtail the “Harris Border Invasion.”
On Thursday, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, Wisconsin Rep. Bryan Steil, all Republicans, and former Assistant Treasury Secretary Monica Crowley are set to appear in Milwaukee to address economic issues.
Again, a good idea to employ surrogates when Trump himself has been such a strong brand? Absolutely.
The Bottom Line
Team Trump's increasing use of surrogates in the campaign's closing weeks is a smart strategic move for multiple reasons.
While more boots on the ground pushing Trump's agenda is important, perhaps even more important, as Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, the entire Democrat Party, and the left-wing lapdog media continue their damnedest to portray Trump as an out-of-control xenophobic maniac intent on ruling America by decree, the likes of Vivek Ramaswamy, Byron Donalds, Rick Scott, Tulsi Gabbard, and even Robert F. Kennedy Jr. campaigning for the former president might knock the wind out of that argument with moderate voters.
