A protestor holds an image of US Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala … [+]
As the race for the White House heats up in the wake of last week’s Democratic National Convention, don’t be surprised to see more demonstrations against the Democratic and Republican nominees for president and vice president.
How political candidates handle protesters often reflects the personalities and temperaments of the politicians. What they say or do in response to demonstrations can help lower the temperature at public events and prevent a serious situation from developing—or fan the flames and make a bad situation worse.
Spurring Protests
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.
“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.
Some protests could boomerang in Trump’s favor by helping him to ramp up the enthusiasm of crowds.
“Trump routinely responded to the protesters with mockery and insults, telling them to ‘Go home to mommy,’ or instructing security to ‘Get ‘em out!’ as his crowds erupted into chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!,” according to the wire service.
Climate protesters interrupt former US president and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump as … [+]
A More Diplomatic Approach
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.
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at … [+]
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 whistle-stopping politicians would simply ignore 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 Candidates
On occasion, protesters would throw eggs, tomatoes, or other objects at whistle-stopping politicians and their trains.
Wendell Willkie
A brick was thrown through a window of Republican presidential candidate Wendell Willkie’s campaign train in 1940 as it left a rail depot in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Mary Earhart Dillon recounted in her biography of Willkie that the incident marked “the first time in more than a generation [that] an election campaign had become a matter of physical assault.”
Thomas Dewey
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.
Adlai Stevenson
An egg hit the roof of the rear platform car on Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson’s campaign train in 1952 as it left a railroad station in Indiana, according to the Associated Press.
Richard Nixon
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.
Increased Security
Heightened security at campaign rallies today make it much harder for protesters to hit or harm candidates with objects. Depending on the nature of the event, demonstrators can be kept so far away from rallies by law enforcement personnel that the targeted politicians cannot hear or see the protests.
Sometimes extra layers of protection must be used to guard a candidate from potential dangers.
In the aftermath of the recent assassination attempt on Trump at an outdoor rally in Pennsylvania, he was protected by a bullet-proof partition at a recent campaign event.
Business 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,” McCormick counseled.
How executives handle protests can help create a reputation for them and their organizations as caring, empathetic, and open to hearing different points of view—or create a crisis that damages their careers and the image of their companies.
