It was the final day of the Democratic National Convention, and the message couldn’t be more different.
| Emails | |
|---|---|
| Total | 12 |
| Biden | 4 |
| Trump | 8 |
For all new readers: Welcome! I am currently on the mailing lists of Joe Biden and Donald Trump, though I have previously been on the mailing lists of 28 Democratic candidates! This blog breaks down recent emails with charts and excerpts. If you already know all of this, feel free to skip to the next chart!
It took some time for the Trump emails to kick in, so I started officially tracking his list on July 7. I have been tracking Biden’s for longer, but I will start comparing them as of July 7. All of these emails are going to a new email, and I have not donated, filled out surveys, signed petitions, or otherwise interacted with either candidate’s emails.
The rules I try to follow for the various categories are laid out in The Framework.
Donald Trump sent a total of 8 emails on Thursday, while Joe Biden sent 4.
While both campaigns focused on fundraising again, Biden offered up a local grassroots event I could participate in to help elect Democrats. Much to my joy, this event was a phonebanking session for Chokwe Pitchford, a young man I know personally who is running to be our district representative in the state house. If he wins, it’ll be the first time since the 1960s that the seat was held by a Democrat and the first time ever that the seat was held by a Black person. It is beyond time for this level of representation around here!
Trump also had an event I could attend: a special campaign strategy meeting ONLY for the Official Trump Text Members. If I signed up to receive text messages, I could get a spot on this limited-space call.
Trump was also offering his platinum card membership (only available to his top 500 supporters, remember?) on sale for a mere $25. This NEVER happens, so I should totally take advantage of the offer!
Uh-huh.
While Trump focused on the LYING liberals, calling the Democratic National Convention “the most boring 4 days in television history” and the “ANTI-TRUMP Convention,” demanding that I donate so he can raise $10 million to give a message to all the “Trump Haters” out there (what happened to “everyone loves Trump, some just don’t know it yet?”), Biden’s team focused on the same message of hope and unity that they’ve been saying for four days at the convention with statements such as “Before I go, I want to thank you for everything you’re doing for this team. It means so much to stand with you at this moment and know that we’re standing for a brighter future together,” (Pete Buttigieg), “But if you believe in an America where everybody has a fair shot at opportunity; where facts and science matter; where we guarantee that every single American citizen has equal representation in our government; and where our government actually works for the people it’s supposed to represent — then I’m asking you to join me in making sure that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris win in November,” (Barack Obama), and “My mother’s creed is the American creed: No one is better than you. Everyone is your equal, and everyone is equal to you. My parents taught us to live our faith, and to treasure our families. We learned the dignity of work, and we were told that anyone can make it if they just try hard enough,” (Joe Biden).
Once again, I am left amazed at how much Trump’s strategy relies simply on his supporters never hearing the words of Biden directly.
If you have friends or family who are fully on-board the Trump train, this may be a strategy to employ on them: find a transcript of a speech, get a few quotes that are quintessentially American, and have them read it. Ask them if that’s what Trump means by “they hate you” and “they’re lying.” At this point, facts and numbers aren’t going to work. Emotional pleas are where the power is at, and emotional pleas are where Biden is the strongest.
But their emails! 