MAGA Nation might be in the midst of an Election Day meltdown.
Earlier today, Donald Trump—in a call echoed by some of his most influential backers—begged men “get off that beautiful couch ... and just go out and vote”—just as female voter turnout has shown signs of surging beyond levels seen in 2020.
Meanwhile, his team sent out a desperation-tinged text blast that ripped his own supporters.
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“I would very much appreciate if you would get out and vote, get off that beautiful couch or wherever you might be sitting right now and just go out and vote,” Trump reportedly said at a virtual rally earlier today.
The last-minute call for support from men arrives as early voting numbers and the first exit polls have showed high turnout from women voters—which bodes poorly for Trump and well for Kamala Harris, who would be the first woman president if she wins.
Trump’s plea to men was echoed by a number of prominent MAGA figures.
Trump adviser Stephen Miller’s first election night message to men was mild—at least by Trumpian standards.
“If you know any men who haven’t voted, get them to the polls,” Miller wrote in an X post.
Miller sounded noticeably more panicked when he took to X half an hour later, after the first polls had closed.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING RIGHT NOW TO TURN OUT THE TRUMP VOTE? CALLING, TEXTING, EMAILING, DRIVING TO THE POLLS?” he wrote on X. “TURN OUT THE VOTE!!!”
And an hour after that, Miller’s tone had reached a fever-pitch as he made a fear-stoking appeal to men and railed against undocumented immigrants in the most inflammatory language possible.
“Illegals are raping and murdering American children,” he wrote. “All the men of America need to fulfill their duty, get to the voting booth, and end the invasion once and for all.”
Some MAGA bigwigs, though, framed their message to male voters as a rallying cry rather than a desperate appeal.
“The cavalry has arrived,” declared billionaire Trump backer Elon Musk in an X post. “Men are voting in record numbers. They now realize everything is at stake.”
Far-right pundit Charlie Kirk chimed in in a similarly confident tone, writing on X: “Huge after work surge happening right now in GA, NC, PA. The men are arriving. Turnout is SURGING. STAY IN LINE!”
But the signs of Election Day panic from the Trump campaign are there.
Earlier in the afternoon, the former president’s team pushed a text blast urging their supporters to vote and blaming them for not hitting the polls hard enough four years ago.
“If just 1% more of President Trump’s supporters responded to texts like this in 2020, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in today,” read the campaign text, sent out this afternoon. “The fact is, Democrats have the money, the media, and the full weight of the DC establishment behind them. And at this moment, the Democrat Machine is out in full force for Kamala. She will have gained millions of votes by the time you’re done reading this message. If we’re going to keep up, we need you to show up and vote.”
“Please don’t be the reason we wake up tomorrow with President-Elect Kamala Harris,” the text added. “Doing nothing is not an option.”
The attempted guilt-trip is only the latest sign of the Trump team softening its typically braggadocious tone—and conceding the possibility of defeat. Trump’s bluster first faltered on Sunday, when he admitted in a phone interview with ABC News that Harris could beat him on Election Day.
“I guess you could lose, can lose,” Trump said, even as he expressed confidence he would win. “I mean, that happens, right? But I think I have a pretty substantial lead, but, you could say, yeah, yeah, you could lose. Bad things could happen. You know, things happen, but it’s going to be interesting.”
The remark represents a shift from the self-assured confidence displayed when it came to his election chances during the weeks leading up to the election.
Both candidates will soon have their answer. As polls begin to close on the evening of Nov. 5, the country moves closer to knowing who its next commander in chief will be.
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