Donald Trump needs to get on the road again.

The primary strength of Trump's 2016 campaign was in the rallies — those big, big rallies, often in places where the Clinton campaign thought they were on safe ground; he spoke to huge, excited audiences, he fired up the crowd. He's good at that; I was in the media pit at CPAC in February of this year and saw the man speak, and the excitement in the big room was palpable. Trump, whatever else one might say about him, knows how to fire up a crowd.

He needs to get back to doing that again, says the New York Post's Daniel McCarthy. He's right.

If Donald Trump wants to return to the White House, he has to get serious about winning the “ground war.”

Social-media memes didn’t elect him in 2016 — his relentless schedule of campaign rallies did.

But this month the Republican nominee is taking a break from the campaign trail, while the Democrats bask in the publicity of their national convention.

Is this wise?

Trump held 27 rallies in August 2016, according to CNBC, yet this time he has only a handful.

Instead he’s returned to X, the social-media site formerly known as Twitter, for an interview with its larger-than-life impresario, Elon Musk.

The X interview was worth doing, mind you; not only did he appear with Elon Musk, who commands an audience of millions, but after some technical issues, the two went through a rambling discussion of issues that made for good listening. 

But appearing in a glorified podcast isn't the same as getting out there amongst the folks.

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The hard fact is that Trump is letting the initiative slip away. Even after Kamala Harris refuses to take unscripted, unscreened questions, after her pick of a military career-fudging old white dude who is politically to the left of Leon Trotsky for her running mate, Trump is beginning to lose the initiative. He is responding to the Harris campaign rather than forcing them to respond to him. He needs to get back in the groove, and fast.

Get those rallies going. The rally in the South Bronx set the Democrats back on their heels, as did the rally in New Jersey. Do more like that. Take the fight into those Democrat strongholds, but don't neglect the purple or even the red states. Voter enthusiasm will be decisive in this election, and the Democrats just got a bump on that front after the withdrawal of befuddled old Joe Biden, who was a sure bet to lose, and the replacement with Kamala Harris, who seems somewhat less sure to lose. But we can't count on that. The Trump campaign should not be counting on anything. Granted, former President Trump is eight years older than he was in that first election, but this must be done. To the former president, I can only say this: Get those crowds out. Talk to them. Shout at them. Make them cheer. Make them sweat. Make them want to crawl through half a mile of scrap iron and busted glass to vote for you, Mr. President. This is what has to be done.

This was always Donald Trump's strong suit. JD Vance has, so far, shown he's no slouch, either. Get on the road. There should be a minimum of five rallies scheduled, for each of them, Trump and Vance, every week, if not more. The race is tightening, and we can't afford to let it tighten. The current lead must be maintained and expanded.

Most of all, the Trump campaign must hold the initiative. Take the fight to them. If, in any conflict, one cedes the terms of the engagement to one's opponent, victory is not possible.

Hit the road, Don. You too, JD. And don't come home until this thing is won. There are less than three months left in this election, and if the Trump people want to win, they will have to fight until the last card is on the table.

This seems appropriate.