Pittsburgh is the center of the political universe heading into Election Day

All eyes were on Pittsburgh as America’s two leading Presidential campaigns made their final pitches to voters here yesterday.

It was a fitting end to an election cycle that saw both campaigns make multiple stops in and near the Steel City. Trump was shot at during a Butler rally that killed one onlooker. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris prepared for the only debate between herself and Republican nominee Donald Trump at a hotel downtown. Both made a point of returning to the area multiple times. And some Pittsburgh households have, by now, seen as many as 2,300 political ads this cycle.

The candidates’ final rallies were initially both scheduled to take place in the middle of the city, with crews setting up a stage at Point State Park for Harris prior to that event’s being moved to Carrie Furnaces in Rankin/Swissvale. Trump spoke as planned at PPG Paints Arena, where curtains covered the upper bowl and some seats remained unfilled, but thousands waited for hours in line to attend.

Both reflected the frantic nature of the major parties’ last push for voters in what’s widely viewed as a must-win state.

Pittsburgh City Paper attended both and encountered very different atmospheres. While both rallies started and ran late, commonalities ended there — Trump’s final pitch to voters felt more like a fond farewell to the campaign trail and his previous administration, while Harris made a fleeting stop at a party-like gathering with local Democrats and pop singer Katy Perry.

Trump organizers admitted tradespeople in hard hats first to create a backdrop for the former President at the arena in the Lower Hill. Vendors with hats, shirts, and flags lined both sides of Centre Ave. City Paper spoke with rally-goers who had driven in from as far away as New York and Michigan, some with children attending their first Trump rally. Inside, the mood was cheerful and the music loud.

Trump was preceded first by area Republicans and police union representatives and then by GOP U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Ark. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Disgraced former Pa. Senate candidate Sean Parnell, for one, criticized Harris as “less articulate than Joe Biden.” By far the loudest applause came when speakers delivered lines decrying illegal immigration or transgender participation in sports. At Trump’s urging, attendees booed the press multiple times during the event.

In between, the campaign played scattered clips of Harris and Trump while music blared (City Paper measured the volume during James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” and Black Eyed Peas’ “Let’s Get It Started” at over 115 decibels).

Trump himself seemed as nostalgic as pugnacious — while he relished in branding opponents as “stupid” and seemed to take particular joy in disparaging the size and shape of U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff of California’s head, Trump said multiple times that it “was sad” that “after tomorrow, we won’t be doing this.”

Joining Trump on stage were conservative pundit Megyn Kelly, who added her share of transphobic remarks; Roberto Clemente Jr., who seemed to be supporting Trump due to his endorsement from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (whom Trump described as “so into women’s health”); and several of his children and their partners, who gave no remarks.

Trump also took a dig at Harris’ nearby rally, quipping, “We have more front-row Joes here than she’s got at her big rally. She tried to get stars to come.” He later made a final stop in Michigan, driving through a cordoned section of Downtown on his way to the airport.

At Carrie Furnace, Harris spoke to a crowd that appeared younger and more diverse while Arie Cole and other locals performed and area politicians including U.S. Sen. John Fetterman spoke. Harris spoke for around 10 minutes after an awkward period without programming and focused on her agenda without saying her opponent’s name.

“Instead of stewing over an enemies list, I will spend every day working on my to-do list,” Harris told supporters. “Ours is not a fight against something, it is a fight for something … it is a fight for freedom. Like the fundamental freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body.”

Afterward, Perry gave a performance, and the crowd headed back to a long line of waiting shuttles. Harris went to her final of eight rallies scheduled for the day.

With campaigning now over, America heads to the polls. Pennsylvania — and Pittsburgh — will be top of mind for both campaigns, party diehards, and the national media. If nothing else, Nov. 4’s dueling rallies were indicative of the two very different major-party choices voters will find at the ballot box on Election Day.

Kamala Harris rallies supporters at Carrie Furnaces the night before Election Day

This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2024.