September 11, 2024
1 Comment
It’s been an interesting couple of years on the Pennsylvania political beat for yours truly.
Seeing the attention heaped on the Keystone State in 2022 with open seats in the U.S. Senate and the governor’s mansion. Getting to attend an inaugural ball and all that goes with it. Attending a rally by former President Donald Trump. Being the center of attention in the 2024 presidential race.
That said, last night may have taken the cake, as your humble correspondent represented at the ABC News Presidential Debate at the Philadelphia Convention Center.
First, you may notice that I said Convention Center and not National Constitution Center. The two locations are approximately five blocks apart and while the setting may have looked small and quaint for the candidates in the Constitution Center, the Convention Center was decked out for the nearly 1,300 reporters that converged on the City of Brotherly Love.
With the blocking of many roads around the city, as well as receiving instructions that credentials needed to be picked up by 6 p.m., I opted for the early arrival around 4 p.m. I was fascinated by the setup with TV standup locations positioned around the perimeter of the ballroom … the steady stream of reporters doing live shots throughout the afternoon while walking around the facility … the large area that was established for print/digital media for the “Spin Room” and tables for the rest of the assorted masses.
Large screens were well positioned throughout the room to enable early arrivals to watch ABC News Live streaming, while Discover Philadelphia scored major points by offering free soft pretzels. While PoliticsPA personnel are well versed on the deliciousness of the delicacy, those from out of town also were treated to a Philly specialty.
Another treat was found at Reading Terminal Market where I knew that when in Philly, a cheesesteak was in order. DiNic’s was closed, but Spataro’s fit the bill. Yes, wiz wit.
Walking around the ballroom, you quickly realized the you were not in Kansas anymore and the significance of the evening’s events, as there were news outlets from across the globe. TV stations from Canada, Great Britain, and Germany among others were stationed in their respective locations along the outside wall with their journalists trolling the area for interviews.
As the hour drew closer, more and more politicos began to come to the room. Two of the first recognizable names were South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
After completing his TV hits, Kennedy began to quickly walk away from reporters with his entourage when he abruptly stopped and wedged his way into a live interview that Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-04) was doing with NewsNation. She gracefully handled the interruption, telling RFK Jr. how much she admired his father and that she recalled the day he was assassinated as that was the day of her ninth birthday.
But as to why he decided to intervene in the middle of her live interview? “I have no idea why he popped in,” she said. “I’m pleased to talk to Mr. Kennedy, as I said, I honor his family’s commitment to service.”
She did add that she did not believe that Kennedy’s support of Trump would make a difference in the race. ” it seems that he’s been all over the board in terms of that which he cares about. If you remember as a younger man, he cared so much about our environment. I don’t know where actually that has gone.” And when queried about talk of his playing a role in another Trump administration, Dean was quick to shut that down.
“The good news is there will not be a second Trump administration.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who serves on the Judiciary, Intelligence, and Armed Services Committees, said prior to the start of the debate that it was an opportunity for the former president to remind voters of what he accomplished from 2017-20.
“I think for any voter who’s not decided how to vote, tonight will be an important kickoff of the fall campaign and a reminder of what they had in the president,” he said. “We had stable prices. We had rising wages. We had a secure border. We had peaceful, stable relationships.”
He also added that a Trump administration would have solved the Israel-Hamas crisis by now.
“Rather than putting pressure on Israel, he would simply let Israel win,” said the former Army infantry officer. “There would be no arms embargo on Israel. There would be no constant criticism of the Israeli government. Donald Trump would back Israel to the hilt as he did for four years.”
Gov. Roy Cooper (D-N.C.), who is completing his term in office in January, was on the “short list” of potential vice presidential candidates before Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) got the nod. Cooper, who said that he might be a step slow during the night due to his having a traditional Philly cheesesteak for dinner (wiz wit), hoped Harris would blaze her own trail during the debate.
“That she is addressing directly the cost that families are feeling … the economic plan that she rolled out in North Carolina,” he said “Making sure that child care tax credits are reinstated … making sure that we tackle high prices at the grocery store, and we pay attention to affordable housing that we pay more attention to small businesses.”
Cooper said that he wanted to learn more about Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I think most people know about who Donald Trump is,” reminded the governor, “and he probably will be true to form tonight, with his word salads and sprinkled with with a lot of lies and insults, but I feel confident tonight that she’s going to lay a plan out that protects the middle class.”
Cooper also added emphatically that the Tar Heel state was not “in play,” rather, “We’re going to win North Carolina.”
The Debate
Looking around the assembled media at the start of the actual debate, most were paying attention to the early questions and responses, while some were preoccupied on their laptops or phones.
While there were some chuckles in the room when moderator Linsey Davis did her first fact-check on the former president, heads were shaking and mouths were agape when Trump began talking about pets being eaten by immigrants. This from a group that tries its best (most of the time) to remain pretty impartial on nights like this.
The in-person reactions were not much different when Trump blamed others for January 6, defended his Charlottesville comments as ‘perfect,’ and refused to acknowledge the 2020 election results.
What was notable to me after covering the former president for the past year, is that his debate performance was no different than what you typically see on the trail.
Seeing Trump in person, when his campaign can keep him on the “prompter” his message resonates with his base.
But when he riffs, it looks like this every time.
— Sy Snyder (@PoliticsPA) September 11, 2024
I quickly concluded an “initial thoughts” piece for the website and prepared for what was coming next.
The Spin Room
The post-debate lineup of surrogates for both candidates was fascinating.
The Democrats brought out big guns in Govs. Cooper, Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.), Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) and Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), as well as Sens. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) were also scattered around the room, as were former Trump communication director Anthony Scaramucci and retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson.
The GOP countered with Kennedy and Noem, along with RNC co-chairs Lara Trump and Michael Whatley, Sen. Rick Scott, Reps. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-N.D.). Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (R-Hawaii) were also present.
We talked with Shapiro who said he thought the vice president prosecuted the case and had a great night.
“It is tough to win here in this state,” said the governor. “Our last two presidential races have come down to about 44,000 votes and 80,000 votes. These are tough states to win in. Kamala Harris has the wind at her back. She’s moving in the right direction, showing up in the right parts of our state. I also thought the vice president did a very good job of laying out some plans when it comes to reducing costs, when it comes to helping small business owners, when it comes to addressing some of the big challenges that we face around the world.”
Shapiro also did a solid for this correspondent, stating that the next question “gotta go to my Pennsylvania guy.”
He praised Harris for her understanding of how important fracking and energy jobs are in the Commonwealth.
“Donald Trump was just full of it when it came to energy,” said Shapiro. “First off, we are producing more energy than ever before. The reality is, if you look at the policies of where we’ve been over the last number of years, combined with the work we’re doing here in Pennsylvania and the vision the Vice President laid out, that she wants to continue to make natural gas a key part of our energy economy. I think that’s good for jobs. It’s good for growing our economy, and it’s good for strength.”
Shapiro, who has also been the target of Trump’s verbal attacks, had some choice words for him.
“This guy can’t stay focused on anything, which is what makes him very, very dangerous,” said the governor. “When you consider handing him the keys back to the White House, he’s only focused on himself. And so an insult, or playing out a fact like that, insults him because he’s only thinking about himself. He’s not thinking about the American people.
“The good news is, what Kamala Harris did tonight, showing Donald Trump to be the chaotic figure that he is … laying out her vision for this Commonwealth and this country and showing up in the communities that she’s been showing up in. She understands you got to show up everywhere, particularly in communities that have been ignored and forgotten.”
Scaramucci, the former communications director, had scathing criticism of his former boss.
“If you picked the subject, she was better, more conversant on every single subject,” he said. “She also found the underbelly of his personality, and he unwound during that. He literally looked unhinged. He probably repeated the same sentence in a regular cadence anywhere from 10 to 20 times throughout the 90 minutes. It was sort of embarrassing for him.”
I asked him if anything in the debate surprised him.
“I was surprised actually, because he has had seven presidential debates,” he began. “Let’s face it, I’m a straight shooter. He bested Joe Biden in the last debate. As bad as Joe Biden did in the last debate, he did three times worse in this one, and that did surprise me.”
Duckworth had a unique perspective as someone who served with Harris in the upper chamber of Congress.
“I thought her strongest moment was when she looked into the camera and she said, I’m going to be here for all Americans,” said the senator. “He was talking about her race, and she was saying, I’m here for all Americans, and this is what we’re going to do for the future. I don’t think he can control himself, and he just went into that downward spiral, especially after the discussion on reproductive rights and on the Dobbs decision, and he just continued to spiral out of control.”
Donalds disagreed with Trump’s surrogates.
“Donald Trump is focused on the issues that matter to the American people,” said the Floridian. “Actually building an economy that works. He’s already done that once. He could do it again, securing our border. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have allowed at least 15 million illegals into our country. Foreign policy, the Biden-Harris foreign policy is an abject disaster. Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on their watch. When Donald Trump was president, Vladimir Putin didn’t move a muscle on any new territory, anywhere in the world.
“The other big takeaway is Kamala Harris spent her time attacking Donald Trump. She sidestepped every major policy issue in this debate. There were a lot of words and no substance.”
One of the most enlightening “Spin Room” sessions was a discussion with retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson.
A 31-year military veteran, he retired in 2011 after command and staff assignments in Korea, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Germany and Hawaii and four tours in the Pentagon. A lifelong Republican, he said he was representing “national security leaders for America, 500 general officers that have signed up to support Kamala Harris.”
He said the leader believe that Harris is the best choice for president and that Trump presents a clear and present danger.
“Donald Trump is a threat to national security and we want to do everything we can to make sure that he never gets reelected,” the brigadier general said. “She looked very presidential. She understands military and military family. She comes from military class background, and she absolutely understands national security.
“By the way, she hasn’t been connected to 34 felonies, so she could actually serve in the army, unlike Donald Trump, who couldn’t, but yet he wants to be the commander in chief.”
You Spin Me Round
Suddenly, the assorted throng began to sprint toward the media entrance.
Why? Donald Trump entered the room.
As one NPR correspondent who covered his administration said, she had never seen a gaggle so large. The semi-circle around the former president was at least 25 deep and reporters were taking chairs from their seats to stand upon and attempt to get a photo.
Between the crowd and their sharp elbows, it wasn’t looking good to get close … or even far … to hear his comments.
Yet, There Was More
After conceding defeat at the possibility of getting anywhere near the 45th president, I returned to my seat, checked social media, and saw that Taylor Swift had endorsed Harris – certainly news that could not wait until the next day.
I pounded out another story on the announcement, posted online and on social media, and as the clock passed midnight … it was time to bring a close to the “Spin Room” experience.
I can safely say that it was an experience that I will remember forever. I have never been in a location with so many politicos … and so many politicos that wanted to talk to you.
The eyes of the nation and the world were trained on Philadelphia and Pennsylvania and PoliticsPA was right in the middle of the fray. It was illuminating, exhilarating and exhausting.
Granted, it took the adrenaline rush to wear off before that hit me … and I hope to get some much-needed sleep tonight.
Did the debate move the needle? Probably not much, if at all.
Did I break any news that other outlets may have missed? Not likely.
I was, though, (almost) in the room where it happened. Or the next best thing. And that made the circus-like atmosphere all worthwhile.
It’s been an interesting couple of years on the Pennsylvania political beat for yours truly.
Seeing the attention heaped on the Keystone State in 2022 with open seats in the U.S. Senate and the governor’s mansion. Getting to attend an inaugural ball and all that goes with it. Attending a rally by former President Donald Trump. Being the center of attention in the 2024 presidential race.
That said, last night may have taken the cake, as your humble correspondent represented at the ABC News Presidential Debate at the Philadelphia Convention Center.
First, you may notice that I said Convention Center and not National Constitution Center. The two locations are approximately five blocks apart and while the setting may have looked small and quaint for the candidates in the Constitution Center, the Convention Center was decked out for the nearly 1,300 reporters that converged on the City of Brotherly Love.
With the blocking of many roads around the city, as well as receiving instructions that credentials needed to be picked up by 6 p.m., I opted for the early arrival around 4 p.m. I was fascinated by the setup with TV standup locations positioned around the perimeter of the ballroom … the steady stream of reporters doing live shots throughout the afternoon while walking around the facility … the large area that was established for print/digital media for the “Spin Room” and tables for the rest of the assorted masses.
Large screens were well positioned throughout the room to enable early arrivals to watch ABC News Live streaming, while Discover Philadelphia scored major points by offering free soft pretzels. While PoliticsPA personnel are well versed on the deliciousness of the delicacy, those from out of town also were treated to a Philly specialty.
Another treat was found at Reading Terminal Market where I knew that when in Philly, a cheesesteak was in order. DiNic’s was closed, but Spataro’s fit the bill. Yes, wiz wit.
Walking around the ballroom, you quickly realized the you were not in Kansas anymore and the significance of the evening’s events, as there were news outlets from across the globe. TV stations from Canada, Great Britain, and Germany among others were stationed in their respective locations along the outside wall with their journalists trolling the area for interviews.
As the hour drew closer, more and more politicos began to come to the room. Two of the first recognizable names were South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
After completing his TV hits, Kennedy began to quickly walk away from reporters with his entourage when he abruptly stopped and wedged his way into a live interview that Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-04) was doing with NewsNation. She gracefully handled the interruption, telling RFK Jr. how much she admired his father and that she recalled the day he was assassinated as that was the day of her ninth birthday.
But as to why he decided to intervene in the middle of her live interview? “I have no idea why he popped in,” she said. “I’m pleased to talk to Mr. Kennedy, as I said, I honor his family’s commitment to service.”
She did add that she did not believe that Kennedy’s support of Trump would make a difference in the race. ” it seems that he’s been all over the board in terms of that which he cares about. If you remember as a younger man, he cared so much about our environment. I don’t know where actually that has gone.” And when queried about talk of his playing a role in another Trump administration, Dean was quick to shut that down.
“The good news is there will not be a second Trump administration.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who serves on the Judiciary, Intelligence, and Armed Services Committees, said prior to the start of the debate that it was an opportunity for the former president to remind voters of what he accomplished from 2017-20.
“I think for any voter who’s not decided how to vote, tonight will be an important kickoff of the fall campaign and a reminder of what they had in the president,” he said. “We had stable prices. We had rising wages. We had a secure border. We had peaceful, stable relationships.”
He also added that a Trump administration would have solved the Israel-Hamas crisis by now.
“Rather than putting pressure on Israel, he would simply let Israel win,” said the former Army infantry officer. “There would be no arms embargo on Israel. There would be no constant criticism of the Israeli government. Donald Trump would back Israel to the hilt as he did for four years.”
Gov. Roy Cooper (D-N.C.), who is completing his term in office in January, was on the “short list” of potential vice presidential candidates before Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) got the nod. Cooper, who said that he might be a step slow during the night due to his having a traditional Philly cheesesteak for dinner (wiz wit), hoped Harris would blaze her own trail during the debate.
“That she is addressing directly the cost that families are feeling … the economic plan that she rolled out in North Carolina,” he said “Making sure that child care tax credits are reinstated … making sure that we tackle high prices at the grocery store, and we pay attention to affordable housing that we pay more attention to small businesses.”
Cooper said that he wanted to learn more about Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I think most people know about who Donald Trump is,” reminded the governor, “and he probably will be true to form tonight, with his word salads and sprinkled with with a lot of lies and insults, but I feel confident tonight that she’s going to lay a plan out that protects the middle class.”
Cooper also added emphatically that the Tar Heel state was not “in play,” rather, “We’re going to win North Carolina.”
The Debate
Looking around the assembled media at the start of the actual debate, most were paying attention to the early questions and responses, while some were preoccupied on their laptops or phones.
While there were some chuckles in the room when moderator Linsey Davis did her first fact-check on the former president, heads were shaking and mouths were agape when Trump began talking about pets being eaten by immigrants. This from a group that tries its best (most of the time) to remain pretty impartial on nights like this.
The in-person reactions were not much different when Trump blamed others for January 6, defended his Charlottesville comments as ‘perfect,’ and refused to acknowledge the 2020 election results.
What was notable to me after covering the former president for the past year, is that his debate performance was no different than what you typically see on the trail.
Seeing Trump in person, when his campaign can keep him on the “prompter” his message resonates with his base.
But when he riffs, it looks like this every time.
— Sy Snyder (@PoliticsPA) September 11, 2024
I quickly concluded an “initial thoughts” piece for the website and prepared for what was coming next.
The Spin Room
The post-debate lineup of surrogates for both candidates was fascinating.
The Democrats brought out big guns in Govs. Cooper, Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.), Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) and Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), as well as Sens. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) were also scattered around the room, as were former Trump communication director Anthony Scaramucci and retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson.
The GOP countered with Kennedy and Noem, along with RNC co-chairs Lara Trump and Michael Whatley, Sen. Rick Scott, Reps. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-N.D.). Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (R-Hawaii) were also present.
We talked with Shapiro who said he thought the vice president prosecuted the case and had a great night.
“It is tough to win here in this state,” said the governor. “Our last two presidential races have come down to about 44,000 votes and 80,000 votes. These are tough states to win in. Kamala Harris has the wind at her back. She’s moving in the right direction, showing up in the right parts of our state. I also thought the vice president did a very good job of laying out some plans when it comes to reducing costs, when it comes to helping small business owners, when it comes to addressing some of the big challenges that we face around the world.”
Shapiro also did a solid for this correspondent, stating that the next question “gotta go to my Pennsylvania guy.”
He praised Harris for her understanding of how important fracking and energy jobs are in the Commonwealth.
“Donald Trump was just full of it when it came to energy,” said Shapiro. “First off, we are producing more energy than ever before. The reality is, if you look at the policies of where we’ve been over the last number of years, combined with the work we’re doing here in Pennsylvania and the vision the Vice President laid out, that she wants to continue to make natural gas a key part of our energy economy. I think that’s good for jobs. It’s good for growing our economy, and it’s good for strength.”
Shapiro, who has also been the target of Trump’s verbal attacks, had some choice words for him.
“This guy can’t stay focused on anything, which is what makes him very, very dangerous,” said the governor. “When you consider handing him the keys back to the White House, he’s only focused on himself. And so an insult, or playing out a fact like that, insults him because he’s only thinking about himself. He’s not thinking about the American people.
“The good news is, what Kamala Harris did tonight, showing Donald Trump to be the chaotic figure that he is … laying out her vision for this Commonwealth and this country and showing up in the communities that she’s been showing up in. She understands you got to show up everywhere, particularly in communities that have been ignored and forgotten.”
Scaramucci, the former communications director, had scathing criticism of his former boss.
“If you picked the subject, she was better, more conversant on every single subject,” he said. “She also found the underbelly of his personality, and he unwound during that. He literally looked unhinged. He probably repeated the same sentence in a regular cadence anywhere from 10 to 20 times throughout the 90 minutes. It was sort of embarrassing for him.”
I asked him if anything in the debate surprised him.
“I was surprised actually, because he has had seven presidential debates,” he began. “Let’s face it, I’m a straight shooter. He bested Joe Biden in the last debate. As bad as Joe Biden did in the last debate, he did three times worse in this one, and that did surprise me.”
Duckworth had a unique perspective as someone who served with Harris in the upper chamber of Congress.
“I thought her strongest moment was when she looked into the camera and she said, I’m going to be here for all Americans,” said the senator. “He was talking about her race, and she was saying, I’m here for all Americans, and this is what we’re going to do for the future. I don’t think he can control himself, and he just went into that downward spiral, especially after the discussion on reproductive rights and on the Dobbs decision, and he just continued to spiral out of control.”
Donalds disagreed with Trump’s surrogates.
“Donald Trump is focused on the issues that matter to the American people,” said the Floridian. “Actually building an economy that works. He’s already done that once. He could do it again, securing our border. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have allowed at least 15 million illegals into our country. Foreign policy, the Biden-Harris foreign policy is an abject disaster. Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on their watch. When Donald Trump was president, Vladimir Putin didn’t move a muscle on any new territory, anywhere in the world.
“The other big takeaway is Kamala Harris spent her time attacking Donald Trump. She sidestepped every major policy issue in this debate. There were a lot of words and no substance.”
One of the most enlightening “Spin Room” sessions was a discussion with retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson.
A 31-year military veteran, he retired in 2011 after command and staff assignments in Korea, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Germany and Hawaii and four tours in the Pentagon. A lifelong Republican, he said he was representing “national security leaders for America, 500 general officers that have signed up to support Kamala Harris.”
He said the leader believe that Harris is the best choice for president and that Trump presents a clear and present danger.
“Donald Trump is a threat to national security and we want to do everything we can to make sure that he never gets reelected,” the brigadier general said. “She looked very presidential. She understands military and military family. She comes from military class background, and she absolutely understands national security.
“By the way, she hasn’t been connected to 34 felonies, so she could actually serve in the army, unlike Donald Trump, who couldn’t, but yet he wants to be the commander in chief.”
You Spin Me Round
Suddenly, the assorted throng began to sprint toward the media entrance.
Why? Donald Trump entered the room.
As one NPR correspondent who covered his administration said, she had never seen a gaggle so large. The semi-circle around the former president was at least 25 deep and reporters were taking chairs from their seats to stand upon and attempt to get a photo.
Between the crowd and their sharp elbows, it wasn’t looking good to get close … or even far … to hear his comments.
Yet, There Was More
After conceding defeat at the possibility of getting anywhere near the 45th president, I returned to my seat, checked social media, and saw that Taylor Swift had endorsed Harris – certainly news that could not wait until the next day.
I pounded out another story on the announcement, posted online and on social media, and as the clock passed midnight … it was time to bring a close to the “Spin Room” experience.
I can safely say that it was an experience that I will remember forever. I have never been in a location with so many politicos … and so many politicos that wanted to talk to you.
The eyes of the nation and the world were trained on Philadelphia and Pennsylvania and PoliticsPA was right in the middle of the fray. It was illuminating, exhilarating and exhausting.
Granted, it took the adrenaline rush to wear off before that hit me … and I hope to get some much-needed sleep tonight.
Did the debate move the needle? Probably not much, if at all.
Did I break any news that other outlets may have missed? Not likely.
I was, though, (almost) in the room where it happened. Or the next best thing. And that made the circus-like atmosphere all worthwhile.
It’s been an interesting couple of years on the Pennsylvania political beat for yours truly.
Seeing the attention heaped on the Keystone State in 2022 with open seats in the U.S. Senate and the governor’s mansion. Getting to attend an inaugural ball and all that goes with it. Attending a rally by former President Donald Trump. Being the center of attention in the 2024 presidential race.
That said, last night may have taken the cake, as your humble correspondent represented at the ABC News Presidential Debate at the Philadelphia Convention Center.
First, you may notice that I said Convention Center and not National Constitution Center. The two locations are approximately five blocks apart and while the setting may have looked small and quaint for the candidates in the Constitution Center, the Convention Center was decked out for the nearly 1,300 reporters that converged on the City of Brotherly Love.
With the blocking of many roads around the city, as well as receiving instructions that credentials needed to be picked up by 6 p.m., I opted for the early arrival around 4 p.m. I was fascinated by the setup with TV standup locations positioned around the perimeter of the ballroom … the steady stream of reporters doing live shots throughout the afternoon while walking around the facility … the large area that was established for print/digital media for the “Spin Room” and tables for the rest of the assorted masses.
Large screens were well positioned throughout the room to enable early arrivals to watch ABC News Live streaming, while Discover Philadelphia scored major points by offering free soft pretzels. While PoliticsPA personnel are well versed on the deliciousness of the delicacy, those from out of town also were treated to a Philly specialty.
Another treat was found at Reading Terminal Market where I knew that when in Philly, a cheesesteak was in order. DiNic’s was closed, but Spataro’s fit the bill. Yes, wiz wit.
Walking around the ballroom, you quickly realized the you were not in Kansas anymore and the significance of the evening’s events, as there were news outlets from across the globe. TV stations from Canada, Great Britain, and Germany among others were stationed in their respective locations along the outside wall with their journalists trolling the area for interviews.
As the hour drew closer, more and more politicos began to come to the room. Two of the first recognizable names were South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
After completing his TV hits, Kennedy began to quickly walk away from reporters with his entourage when he abruptly stopped and wedged his way into a live interview that Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-04) was doing with NewsNation. She gracefully handled the interruption, telling RFK Jr. how much she admired his father and that she recalled the day he was assassinated as that was the day of her ninth birthday.
But as to why he decided to intervene in the middle of her live interview? “I have no idea why he popped in,” she said. “I’m pleased to talk to Mr. Kennedy, as I said, I honor his family’s commitment to service.”
She did add that she did not believe that Kennedy’s support of Trump would make a difference in the race. ” it seems that he’s been all over the board in terms of that which he cares about. If you remember as a younger man, he cared so much about our environment. I don’t know where actually that has gone.” And when queried about talk of his playing a role in another Trump administration, Dean was quick to shut that down.
“The good news is there will not be a second Trump administration.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who serves on the Judiciary, Intelligence, and Armed Services Committees, said prior to the start of the debate that it was an opportunity for the former president to remind voters of what he accomplished from 2017-20.
“I think for any voter who’s not decided how to vote, tonight will be an important kickoff of the fall campaign and a reminder of what they had in the president,” he said. “We had stable prices. We had rising wages. We had a secure border. We had peaceful, stable relationships.”
He also added that a Trump administration would have solved the Israel-Hamas crisis by now.
“Rather than putting pressure on Israel, he would simply let Israel win,” said the former Army infantry officer. “There would be no arms embargo on Israel. There would be no constant criticism of the Israeli government. Donald Trump would back Israel to the hilt as he did for four years.”
Gov. Roy Cooper (D-N.C.), who is completing his term in office in January, was on the “short list” of potential vice presidential candidates before Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) got the nod. Cooper, who said that he might be a step slow during the night due to his having a traditional Philly cheesesteak for dinner (wiz wit), hoped Harris would blaze her own trail during the debate.
“That she is addressing directly the cost that families are feeling … the economic plan that she rolled out in North Carolina,” he said “Making sure that child care tax credits are reinstated … making sure that we tackle high prices at the grocery store, and we pay attention to affordable housing that we pay more attention to small businesses.”
Cooper said that he wanted to learn more about Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I think most people know about who Donald Trump is,” reminded the governor, “and he probably will be true to form tonight, with his word salads and sprinkled with with a lot of lies and insults, but I feel confident tonight that she’s going to lay a plan out that protects the middle class.”
Cooper also added emphatically that the Tar Heel state was not “in play,” rather, “We’re going to win North Carolina.”
The Debate
Looking around the assembled media at the start of the actual debate, most were paying attention to the early questions and responses, while some were preoccupied on their laptops or phones.
While there were some chuckles in the room when moderator Linsey Davis did her first fact-check on the former president, heads were shaking and mouths were agape when Trump began talking about pets being eaten by immigrants. This from a group that tries its best (most of the time) to remain pretty impartial on nights like this.
The in-person reactions were not much different when Trump blamed others for January 6, defended his Charlottesville comments as ‘perfect,’ and refused to acknowledge the 2020 election results.
What was notable to me after covering the former president for the past year, is that his debate performance was no different than what you typically see on the trail.
Seeing Trump in person, when his campaign can keep him on the “prompter” his message resonates with his base.
But when he riffs, it looks like this every time.
— Sy Snyder (@PoliticsPA) September 11, 2024
I quickly concluded an “initial thoughts” piece for the website and prepared for what was coming next.
The Spin Room
The post-debate lineup of surrogates for both candidates was fascinating.
The Democrats brought out big guns in Govs. Cooper, Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.), Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) and Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), as well as Sens. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) were also scattered around the room, as were former Trump communication director Anthony Scaramucci and retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson.
The GOP countered with Kennedy and Noem, along with RNC co-chairs Lara Trump and Michael Whatley, Sen. Rick Scott, Reps. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-N.D.). Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (R-Hawaii) were also present.
We talked with Shapiro who said he thought the vice president prosecuted the case and had a great night.
“It is tough to win here in this state,” said the governor. “Our last two presidential races have come down to about 44,000 votes and 80,000 votes. These are tough states to win in. Kamala Harris has the wind at her back. She’s moving in the right direction, showing up in the right parts of our state. I also thought the vice president did a very good job of laying out some plans when it comes to reducing costs, when it comes to helping small business owners, when it comes to addressing some of the big challenges that we face around the world.”
Shapiro also did a solid for this correspondent, stating that the next question “gotta go to my Pennsylvania guy.”
He praised Harris for her understanding of how important fracking and energy jobs are in the Commonwealth.
“Donald Trump was just full of it when it came to energy,” said Shapiro. “First off, we are producing more energy than ever before. The reality is, if you look at the policies of where we’ve been over the last number of years, combined with the work we’re doing here in Pennsylvania and the vision the Vice President laid out, that she wants to continue to make natural gas a key part of our energy economy. I think that’s good for jobs. It’s good for growing our economy, and it’s good for strength.”
Shapiro, who has also been the target of Trump’s verbal attacks, had some choice words for him.
“This guy can’t stay focused on anything, which is what makes him very, very dangerous,” said the governor. “When you consider handing him the keys back to the White House, he’s only focused on himself. And so an insult, or playing out a fact like that, insults him because he’s only thinking about himself. He’s not thinking about the American people.
“The good news is, what Kamala Harris did tonight, showing Donald Trump to be the chaotic figure that he is … laying out her vision for this Commonwealth and this country and showing up in the communities that she’s been showing up in. She understands you got to show up everywhere, particularly in communities that have been ignored and forgotten.”
Scaramucci, the former communications director, had scathing criticism of his former boss.
“If you picked the subject, she was better, more conversant on every single subject,” he said. “She also found the underbelly of his personality, and he unwound during that. He literally looked unhinged. He probably repeated the same sentence in a regular cadence anywhere from 10 to 20 times throughout the 90 minutes. It was sort of embarrassing for him.”
I asked him if anything in the debate surprised him.
“I was surprised actually, because he has had seven presidential debates,” he began. “Let’s face it, I’m a straight shooter. He bested Joe Biden in the last debate. As bad as Joe Biden did in the last debate, he did three times worse in this one, and that did surprise me.”
Duckworth had a unique perspective as someone who served with Harris in the upper chamber of Congress.
“I thought her strongest moment was when she looked into the camera and she said, I’m going to be here for all Americans,” said the senator. “He was talking about her race, and she was saying, I’m here for all Americans, and this is what we’re going to do for the future. I don’t think he can control himself, and he just went into that downward spiral, especially after the discussion on reproductive rights and on the Dobbs decision, and he just continued to spiral out of control.”
Donalds disagreed with Trump’s surrogates.
“Donald Trump is focused on the issues that matter to the American people,” said the Floridian. “Actually building an economy that works. He’s already done that once. He could do it again, securing our border. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have allowed at least 15 million illegals into our country. Foreign policy, the Biden-Harris foreign policy is an abject disaster. Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on their watch. When Donald Trump was president, Vladimir Putin didn’t move a muscle on any new territory, anywhere in the world.
“The other big takeaway is Kamala Harris spent her time attacking Donald Trump. She sidestepped every major policy issue in this debate. There were a lot of words and no substance.”
One of the most enlightening “Spin Room” sessions was a discussion with retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson.
A 31-year military veteran, he retired in 2011 after command and staff assignments in Korea, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Germany and Hawaii and four tours in the Pentagon. A lifelong Republican, he said he was representing “national security leaders for America, 500 general officers that have signed up to support Kamala Harris.”
He said the leader believe that Harris is the best choice for president and that Trump presents a clear and present danger.
“Donald Trump is a threat to national security and we want to do everything we can to make sure that he never gets reelected,” the brigadier general said. “She looked very presidential. She understands military and military family. She comes from military class background, and she absolutely understands national security.
“By the way, she hasn’t been connected to 34 felonies, so she could actually serve in the army, unlike Donald Trump, who couldn’t, but yet he wants to be the commander in chief.”
You Spin Me Round
Suddenly, the assorted throng began to sprint toward the media entrance.
Why? Donald Trump entered the room.
As one NPR correspondent who covered his administration said, she had never seen a gaggle so large. The semi-circle around the former president was at least 25 deep and reporters were taking chairs from their seats to stand upon and attempt to get a photo.
Between the crowd and their sharp elbows, it wasn’t looking good to get close … or even far … to hear his comments.
Yet, There Was More
After conceding defeat at the possibility of getting anywhere near the 45th president, I returned to my seat, checked social media, and saw that Taylor Swift had endorsed Harris – certainly news that could not wait until the next day.
I pounded out another story on the announcement, posted online and on social media, and as the clock passed midnight … it was time to bring a close to the “Spin Room” experience.
I can safely say that it was an experience that I will remember forever. I have never been in a location with so many politicos … and so many politicos that wanted to talk to you.
The eyes of the nation and the world were trained on Philadelphia and Pennsylvania and PoliticsPA was right in the middle of the fray. It was illuminating, exhilarating and exhausting.
Granted, it took the adrenaline rush to wear off before that hit me … and I hope to get some much-needed sleep tonight.
Did the debate move the needle? Probably not much, if at all.
Did I break any news that other outlets may have missed? Not likely.
I was, though, (almost) in the room where it happened. Or the next best thing. And that made the circus-like atmosphere all worthwhile.
It’s been an interesting couple of years on the Pennsylvania political beat for yours truly.
Seeing the attention heaped on the Keystone State in 2022 with open seats in the U.S. Senate and the governor’s mansion. Getting to attend an inaugural ball and all that goes with it. Attending a rally by former President Donald Trump. Being the center of attention in the 2024 presidential race.
That said, last night may have taken the cake, as your humble correspondent represented at the ABC News Presidential Debate at the Philadelphia Convention Center.
First, you may notice that I said Convention Center and not National Constitution Center. The two locations are approximately five blocks apart and while the setting may have looked small and quaint for the candidates in the Constitution Center, the Convention Center was decked out for the nearly 1,300 reporters that converged on the City of Brotherly Love.
With the blocking of many roads around the city, as well as receiving instructions that credentials needed to be picked up by 6 p.m., I opted for the early arrival around 4 p.m. I was fascinated by the setup with TV standup locations positioned around the perimeter of the ballroom … the steady stream of reporters doing live shots throughout the afternoon while walking around the facility … the large area that was established for print/digital media for the “Spin Room” and tables for the rest of the assorted masses.
Large screens were well positioned throughout the room to enable early arrivals to watch ABC News Live streaming, while Discover Philadelphia scored major points by offering free soft pretzels. While PoliticsPA personnel are well versed on the deliciousness of the delicacy, those from out of town also were treated to a Philly specialty.
Another treat was found at Reading Terminal Market where I knew that when in Philly, a cheesesteak was in order. DiNic’s was closed, but Spataro’s fit the bill. Yes, wiz wit.
Walking around the ballroom, you quickly realized the you were not in Kansas anymore and the significance of the evening’s events, as there were news outlets from across the globe. TV stations from Canada, Great Britain, and Germany among others were stationed in their respective locations along the outside wall with their journalists trolling the area for interviews.
As the hour drew closer, more and more politicos began to come to the room. Two of the first recognizable names were South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
After completing his TV hits, Kennedy began to quickly walk away from reporters with his entourage when he abruptly stopped and wedged his way into a live interview that Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-04) was doing with NewsNation. She gracefully handled the interruption, telling RFK Jr. how much she admired his father and that she recalled the day he was assassinated as that was the day of her ninth birthday.
But as to why he decided to intervene in the middle of her live interview? “I have no idea why he popped in,” she said. “I’m pleased to talk to Mr. Kennedy, as I said, I honor his family’s commitment to service.”
She did add that she did not believe that Kennedy’s support of Trump would make a difference in the race. ” it seems that he’s been all over the board in terms of that which he cares about. If you remember as a younger man, he cared so much about our environment. I don’t know where actually that has gone.” And when queried about talk of his playing a role in another Trump administration, Dean was quick to shut that down.
“The good news is there will not be a second Trump administration.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who serves on the Judiciary, Intelligence, and Armed Services Committees, said prior to the start of the debate that it was an opportunity for the former president to remind voters of what he accomplished from 2017-20.
“I think for any voter who’s not decided how to vote, tonight will be an important kickoff of the fall campaign and a reminder of what they had in the president,” he said. “We had stable prices. We had rising wages. We had a secure border. We had peaceful, stable relationships.”
He also added that a Trump administration would have solved the Israel-Hamas crisis by now.
“Rather than putting pressure on Israel, he would simply let Israel win,” said the former Army infantry officer. “There would be no arms embargo on Israel. There would be no constant criticism of the Israeli government. Donald Trump would back Israel to the hilt as he did for four years.”
Gov. Roy Cooper (D-N.C.), who is completing his term in office in January, was on the “short list” of potential vice presidential candidates before Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) got the nod. Cooper, who said that he might be a step slow during the night due to his having a traditional Philly cheesesteak for dinner (wiz wit), hoped Harris would blaze her own trail during the debate.
“That she is addressing directly the cost that families are feeling … the economic plan that she rolled out in North Carolina,” he said “Making sure that child care tax credits are reinstated … making sure that we tackle high prices at the grocery store, and we pay attention to affordable housing that we pay more attention to small businesses.”
Cooper said that he wanted to learn more about Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I think most people know about who Donald Trump is,” reminded the governor, “and he probably will be true to form tonight, with his word salads and sprinkled with with a lot of lies and insults, but I feel confident tonight that she’s going to lay a plan out that protects the middle class.”
Cooper also added emphatically that the Tar Heel state was not “in play,” rather, “We’re going to win North Carolina.”
The Debate
Looking around the assembled media at the start of the actual debate, most were paying attention to the early questions and responses, while some were preoccupied on their laptops or phones.
While there were some chuckles in the room when moderator Linsey Davis did her first fact-check on the former president, heads were shaking and mouths were agape when Trump began talking about pets being eaten by immigrants. This from a group that tries its best (most of the time) to remain pretty impartial on nights like this.
The in-person reactions were not much different when Trump blamed others for January 6, defended his Charlottesville comments as ‘perfect,’ and refused to acknowledge the 2020 election results.
What was notable to me after covering the former president for the past year, is that his debate performance was no different than what you typically see on the trail.
Seeing Trump in person, when his campaign can keep him on the “prompter” his message resonates with his base.
But when he riffs, it looks like this every time.
— Sy Snyder (@PoliticsPA) September 11, 2024
I quickly concluded an “initial thoughts” piece for the website and prepared for what was coming next.
The Spin Room
The post-debate lineup of surrogates for both candidates was fascinating.
The Democrats brought out big guns in Govs. Cooper, Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.), Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) and Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), as well as Sens. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) were also scattered around the room, as were former Trump communication director Anthony Scaramucci and retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson.
The GOP countered with Kennedy and Noem, along with RNC co-chairs Lara Trump and Michael Whatley, Sen. Rick Scott, Reps. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-N.D.). Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (R-Hawaii) were also present.
We talked with Shapiro who said he thought the vice president prosecuted the case and had a great night.
“It is tough to win here in this state,” said the governor. “Our last two presidential races have come down to about 44,000 votes and 80,000 votes. These are tough states to win in. Kamala Harris has the wind at her back. She’s moving in the right direction, showing up in the right parts of our state. I also thought the vice president did a very good job of laying out some plans when it comes to reducing costs, when it comes to helping small business owners, when it comes to addressing some of the big challenges that we face around the world.”
Shapiro also did a solid for this correspondent, stating that the next question “gotta go to my Pennsylvania guy.”
He praised Harris for her understanding of how important fracking and energy jobs are in the Commonwealth.
“Donald Trump was just full of it when it came to energy,” said Shapiro. “First off, we are producing more energy than ever before. The reality is, if you look at the policies of where we’ve been over the last number of years, combined with the work we’re doing here in Pennsylvania and the vision the Vice President laid out, that she wants to continue to make natural gas a key part of our energy economy. I think that’s good for jobs. It’s good for growing our economy, and it’s good for strength.”
Shapiro, who has also been the target of Trump’s verbal attacks, had some choice words for him.
“This guy can’t stay focused on anything, which is what makes him very, very dangerous,” said the governor. “When you consider handing him the keys back to the White House, he’s only focused on himself. And so an insult, or playing out a fact like that, insults him because he’s only thinking about himself. He’s not thinking about the American people.
“The good news is, what Kamala Harris did tonight, showing Donald Trump to be the chaotic figure that he is … laying out her vision for this Commonwealth and this country and showing up in the communities that she’s been showing up in. She understands you got to show up everywhere, particularly in communities that have been ignored and forgotten.”
Scaramucci, the former communications director, had scathing criticism of his former boss.
“If you picked the subject, she was better, more conversant on every single subject,” he said. “She also found the underbelly of his personality, and he unwound during that. He literally looked unhinged. He probably repeated the same sentence in a regular cadence anywhere from 10 to 20 times throughout the 90 minutes. It was sort of embarrassing for him.”
I asked him if anything in the debate surprised him.
“I was surprised actually, because he has had seven presidential debates,” he began. “Let’s face it, I’m a straight shooter. He bested Joe Biden in the last debate. As bad as Joe Biden did in the last debate, he did three times worse in this one, and that did surprise me.”
Duckworth had a unique perspective as someone who served with Harris in the upper chamber of Congress.
“I thought her strongest moment was when she looked into the camera and she said, I’m going to be here for all Americans,” said the senator. “He was talking about her race, and she was saying, I’m here for all Americans, and this is what we’re going to do for the future. I don’t think he can control himself, and he just went into that downward spiral, especially after the discussion on reproductive rights and on the Dobbs decision, and he just continued to spiral out of control.”
Donalds disagreed with Trump’s surrogates.
“Donald Trump is focused on the issues that matter to the American people,” said the Floridian. “Actually building an economy that works. He’s already done that once. He could do it again, securing our border. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have allowed at least 15 million illegals into our country. Foreign policy, the Biden-Harris foreign policy is an abject disaster. Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on their watch. When Donald Trump was president, Vladimir Putin didn’t move a muscle on any new territory, anywhere in the world.
“The other big takeaway is Kamala Harris spent her time attacking Donald Trump. She sidestepped every major policy issue in this debate. There were a lot of words and no substance.”
One of the most enlightening “Spin Room” sessions was a discussion with retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson.
A 31-year military veteran, he retired in 2011 after command and staff assignments in Korea, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Germany and Hawaii and four tours in the Pentagon. A lifelong Republican, he said he was representing “national security leaders for America, 500 general officers that have signed up to support Kamala Harris.”
He said the leader believe that Harris is the best choice for president and that Trump presents a clear and present danger.
“Donald Trump is a threat to national security and we want to do everything we can to make sure that he never gets reelected,” the brigadier general said. “She looked very presidential. She understands military and military family. She comes from military class background, and she absolutely understands national security.
“By the way, she hasn’t been connected to 34 felonies, so she could actually serve in the army, unlike Donald Trump, who couldn’t, but yet he wants to be the commander in chief.”
You Spin Me Round
Suddenly, the assorted throng began to sprint toward the media entrance.
Why? Donald Trump entered the room.
As one NPR correspondent who covered his administration said, she had never seen a gaggle so large. The semi-circle around the former president was at least 25 deep and reporters were taking chairs from their seats to stand upon and attempt to get a photo.
Between the crowd and their sharp elbows, it wasn’t looking good to get close … or even far … to hear his comments.
Yet, There Was More
After conceding defeat at the possibility of getting anywhere near the 45th president, I returned to my seat, checked social media, and saw that Taylor Swift had endorsed Harris – certainly news that could not wait until the next day.
I pounded out another story on the announcement, posted online and on social media, and as the clock passed midnight … it was time to bring a close to the “Spin Room” experience.
I can safely say that it was an experience that I will remember forever. I have never been in a location with so many politicos … and so many politicos that wanted to talk to you.
The eyes of the nation and the world were trained on Philadelphia and Pennsylvania and PoliticsPA was right in the middle of the fray. It was illuminating, exhilarating and exhausting.
Granted, it took the adrenaline rush to wear off before that hit me … and I hope to get some much-needed sleep tonight.
Did the debate move the needle? Probably not much, if at all.
Did I break any news that other outlets may have missed? Not likely.
I was, though, (almost) in the room where it happened. Or the next best thing. And that made the circus-like atmosphere all worthwhile.
Will tonight's U.S. Senate debate affect your decision?
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