How Kamala Harris And Donald Trump Handle Protesters

How political candidates respond to protests often reflects the personalities and temperament of the politicians.

Take former President Donald Trump, for example, who is known for his combative nature and inflammatory rhetoric about immigrants and others. That rhetoric has spurred protests and demonstrations at his rallies.

“When Donald Trump first ran for the White House eight years ago, protesters filled the streets,…Knock the crap out of them, would you?” Trump once said as he egged on the crowd to go after protestors on their own— even promising to pay their legal bills,” the Associated Press reported.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has taken a more diplomatic approach to demonstrators, reaffirming the right of people to express their opinions when faced with protests at her rallies.

When interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters at an airport hanger rally earlier this month, “Harris first acknowledged the protesters by borrowing a strategy President Joe Biden used earlier this cycle when pro-Palestinian demonstrators routinely interrupted his events, affirming the protesters’ right to voice their opinions while trying to redirect attention to the remarks. ‘I’m here because we believe in democracy. Everyone’s voice matters,’ she said. ‘But I am speaking now. I am speaking now,’” according to NBC News.

Political protests are nothing new, of course, and have been a part of the campaign trail for decades, which I have documented and written about in my role as a whistle-stop campaign train historian.

Although many politicians would simply ignore the dissenters, other candidates would engage and argue with them.

President Gerald Ford

Running for election in 1976, President Gerald Ford was campaigning by train in Flint, Michigan, where he bragged about the state’s economy. A young man in the crowd disagreed and yelled at the president, “You blew it!” Ford would have none of it, responding, “We blew it in the right direction, young man—and those of you who don’t agree—and if you would go out and look for a job, you would get one,” according to a study by the American Presidency Project at UC Santa Barbara.

Senator Edmund Muskie

When Democratic presidential candidate Edmund Muskie was campaigning from the back of a train at a railroad depot in Miami in 1972, someone in the crowd insisted on heckling the Maine senator.

“Finally, Muskie’s temper boiled,” the Tampa Tribune reported. “When one youth called out, ‘I’ve got a question,’ he leaned over the railing, stabbed his finger at him, and said, ‘No, you don’t have a question. Your only intention is to disrupt this meeting, and I’m not going to let you get away with it. I’m going to talk to these people, and I’m going to say it my way.’”

Targeted

On occasion, protesters would throw eggs, tomatoes, or other objects at whistle-stopping politicians.

• In 1948, someone hit Republican presidential nominee Thomas Dewey with a tomato as he was speaking from the rear platform of his train in Mount Vernon, Illinois, the Associated Press reported.
• In 1952, an egg hit the roof of the rear platform car on Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson’s campaign train as it left a railroad station in Indiana, according to the Associated Press.
• When he ran for re-election in 1960, eggs and tomatoes were hurled at Vice President Richard Nixon as he campaigned by train, United Press International reported.

Heightened security at campaign rallies today make it much harder for protesters to hit or harm candidates with objects. In the aftermath of the recent assassination attempt on Trump at an outside rally in Pennsylvania, he was protected by a bullet-proof partition at a recent campaign event.

Executives Should Be Prepared

In the corporate world, executives “should be prepared for the possibility that protests can escalate” because of what they or their companies do or say, In the corporate world, Grayce McCormick, founder of Lightfinder PR, advised in an email message.

A crisis management plan that accounts for the possibility of demonstrations and protests can help ensure that organizations respond to protests in an appropriate and measured manner.

“Having a well-thought-out contingency plan in place, which includes guidelines for security personnel and communication strategies for rapid response, is vital. This plan is crucial in managing the situation calmly and effectively without resorting to heavy-handed tactics that could backfire and lead to negative media coverage or public backlash.

“By handling protests thoughtfully, political leaders can not only manage immediate crises but also build a reputation for being responsive, compassionate, and strong under pressure,” McCormick concluded.