Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Vice Presidential Candidate Announcement
Ed Emerson of Dem Talk America & Jim Loftus bring the audience coverage of Robert F Kennedy Jr’s announcement of his vice presidential candidate. Jim is on the ground in Oakland, California, giving the audience a look at the event.
Setting the Stage
As Jim stands in the middle of the sound check, the main stage behind him is set for the announcement. It’s about half an hour before call time, and the venue is currently empty. Outside, there’s no line yet, and the magnetometers and metal detectors are ready for the crowd. The call time for the crowd is 10:00, with the event scheduled to start at 11.
A Nervous Anticipation
If this were an event Jim was running, he would be very nervous because there’s just nobody there. So how’s that for a scene-setter?
A Signal for Robert F Kennedy?
One question that arises is, if no one shows up, is that a signal for Robert F Kennedy? At the very least, it shows a lack of organizational planning and execution on things that are hard to do, but you have to do well in politics. The media judges campaigns on how they do this stuff, and right now, it’s a lot more than just setting up a backdrop and lighting and sound. You have to have a crowd element, and right now, they don’t have it.
Checking Back
Ed will check back in half an hour. In the meantime, that’s the first look at RFK Jr.'s VP announcement with Dem Talk America here in Oakland.
The Lead of the Story
The lead of this story is likely to be the lack of a crowd. Despite the need for 5000 people to make the place seem full, there are only a couple of hundred people there, half of whom seem to be press. The arena is in a tough location in Oakland with no real parking, which could be contributing to the low turnout.
The Pivotal Moment
Time magazine has called this a pivotal moment for the campaign, and it’s not looking good. The visual conclusion is likely to be that they didn’t get the crowd they needed. This is a function of organization, and it’s clear that the campaign has fallen short in this area.
The Relevance to the Biden Campaign
The event could serve as a visual reinforcement of how Kennedy performed in the Democratic primaries this season. The Biden camp might look at this with some compassion for this campaign organization, but it’s clear that they have their work cut out for them.
The Vice Presidential Candidate: Nicole Shanahan
The woman Kennedy is set to name as his VP is Nicole Shanahan, a tech billionaire who was married to Sergey Brin, one of the founders of Google. Their divorce was messy, and there were charges at the time that she had an affair with Elon Musk. Despite the tawdriness, she’s expected to be at the event.
The Visuals Speak for Themselves
The visuals at the event are less than impressive. The big screens, which are usually needed for image magnification so a large crowd can see the candidate, are unnecessary as there are not many people in attendance. These screens are a visual representation of the campaign’s expectations about the kind of crowd they were going to get.
Symbolism vs. Visuals
Campaigns often do things for symbolic reasons, but sometimes symbolism has to take a back seat to visuals and perceptions about how the campaign is going. This room has historical significance as John F Kennedy spoke here during the general election in 1960, and Martin Luther King gave a very famous speech here on the hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. However, the Kennedy campaign in 1960 would not have made the mistake of not having a very aggressive crowd-building operation.
The Media’s Judgement
The media judges campaigns based on how well they do everything, including and particularly public events like this. The lack of a crowd is likely to be noticed by the media.
The Pre-Program Begins
The pre-program for the event to announce the vice presidential candidate for Robert F Kennedy Jr has begun. The crowd is still thin, but they’re getting their “nut crowd” in place. The problem is the cutaway shots over here and all these empty seats and empty floor space. The event has been stretched to 1:00 pm in the afternoon, but if you haven’t actually done the work to build a crowd, stretching for two hours isn’t going to do much good, and it’s probably going to anger a lot of people who are standing here.
The Crowd Fills In
Despite the initial lack of a crowd, it seems that the event has managed to draw in at least 5000 people. Credit where credit is due, the campaign has managed to fill the room. It’s just a little shy of 11 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, and the event is set to continue for two more hours.
The Announcement is Imminent
It looks like Kennedy is about to come out and make his announcement. It looks as though the crowd showed up and the event will go on!
This concludes our coverage of Robert F Kennedy Jr’s announcement of his vice presidential candidate.
Despite a rocky start, the event managed to draw in a sizable crowd and is set to continue into the night. Stay tuned to Dem Talk America, brought to you by TigerEye Design, for more updates on your politics.
