Presidential campaigns They are primarily about messaging. In any race, campaigns and media highlight the importance of certain ideas or moments in the hopes that they will saturate the public consciousness. But of hundreds of attempts to achieve this, only a few succeed.

In 2024, during my travels to more than two dozen towns and cities, there were five moments that stand out for capturing the imagination of the electorate and shaping Americans’ voting preferences. Each changed the narrative of the race and gave it a new direction.

No matter who wins, these are the stories that got us here.

The attempted murder of the butler

In an echo of the original gunshot heard around the world, Donald Trump’s near-shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, which left a defiant former president shot, bleeding and shaking his fist at the crowd, is the most iconic moment of this election. . For Trump supporters, the shooting reinforced what they already felt about him: that he was strong, brave and maybe even a little stubborn.

TOPSHOT – Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by Secret Service agents as he is led off stage at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (Photo by Rebecca DROKE / AFP ) (Photo by REBECCA DROKE/AFP via Getty Images) (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

For independents and even some Democrats I spoke to, Trump’s brush with death sent a clear signal that it was time for the dangerous rhetoric of calling him “Hitler” to stop, and for a while it did. But not for long.

Furthermore, at the time, many people, including two naval workers I spoke to in Toledo, Ohio, thought the race was over. One of them looked at the TV, then at me, and said, “That’s it, he’s going to win.” And that takes us directly to our second moment.

Biden’s moment of abandonment

Without a doubt, the most important, historic and consequential event of the 2024 race was President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race. And it wasn’t just the choice, it was largely the timing.

No one knows what role the attempt on Trump’s life played in Biden’s decision, but for weeks beforehand, he and his allies insisted he wasn’t going anywhere despite his strange and troubling performance in the debate against Triumph. Only after the shooting and a triumphant Republican National Convention celebrating Trump’s survival did the pressure on Biden become too much to bear.

Bob Woodward’s new book details witness accounts of President Biden’s alleged senility for more than a year before he gave up his re-election campaign. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Had Biden decided to drop out in March, Kamala Harris may or may not have won a contested Democratic primary, but she would have had to endure that gauntlet, answering questions and giving interviews. Biden left no time for that.

The comment I heard most frequently from voters on the ground, especially after she repudiated a dozen of her previous progressive positions, was “I just don’t know who she is.” But that was going to change.

Harris starts doing interviews

In late August, after weeks of running a ‘Hidin’ Harris’ 2024 campaign in which she refused to give interviews, the vice president finally sat down for a friendly exchange with NBC News’ Lester Holt, accompanied by her colleague Tim Walz formula. It didn’t go well. Trying to address his changes, he said, “My values ​​haven’t changed,” which didn’t answer the question.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – AUGUST 22: Democratic presidential candidate US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on stage during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 22, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Democratic Party delegates, politicians and supporters are gathering in Chicago as current Vice President Kamala Harris is named her party’s presidential candidate. The Democratic National Convention will take place August 19-22. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

The situation worsened weeks later, when Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier questioned the vice president, who at one point, exasperated, told the reporter: “You and I know what I’m talking about,” to which Baier, speaking in name of millions of Americans, responded: “I don’t really know. What are you talking about?”

After that, the most common comment I heard from voters was no longer, “I don’t know who he is,” but, “Why can’t he answer any questions?” I even heard this from union members defending Harris in Pennsylvania. If he loses, it will probably be because of that.

Springfield, Ohio

“They’re eating cats, they’re eating dogs,” Trump said in the presidential debate, in the face of accusations of racism from Democrats and the media that argued that Trump was endangering the 15,000 Haitian immigrants in Springfield, a city of barely 60,000 inhabitants. residents.

It was classic Trump. He first made the story about himself, taking up running mate JD Vance’s suggestion that pets were turning into meat, but then, when the dust settled, the story became about Springfield itself, and the obvious bad news. management of the immigrant asylum program there, which had previously been ignored.

In Springfield, I heard from grateful citizens who were finally being heard, and it resonated more widely. A woman in Bedford, Pennsylvania, told me, “I don’t care about dogs and cats, but I’m worried about 10,000 immigrants being left on our doorstep.”

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The truckers’ snub

When the Teamsters refused to endorse Harris for president in late September, it was actually two bombshells in one. First, it was the snub itself, and then internal polls showing that Biden had been beating Trump by double digits, but Trump was beating Harris by double digits.

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – JULY 15: International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien speaks on stage on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians and Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, which concludes with former President Donald Trump accepting his party’s presidential nomination. The RNC will take place from July 15 to 18. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

This was an earthquake for Democrats who rely heavily not only on the votes of members of private sector unions, but also on their organization. In Washington, Pennsylvania, around this time, I met a former Teamsters official whose disdain for Harris was so vivid and audible that a waiter had to tell us to shut up.

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This was the first major chink in Harris’s armor. From that point on, the joy and optimism that had permeated his campaign turned into a darker, more terrifying message that culminated in words like “Hitler” and “fascist” coming dangerously back on track.

In the coming days or weeks we will know the outcome of this election, but whatever it is, it will have been shaped by unexpected moments that shook the campaign and captured the attention of American voters.

Politics can water the horse of voters’ interest, but it cannot make voters drink. These five events made them drink. And for one side or the other, a bad hangover is soon on the horizon.

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