Hillary Clinton is taking a break from the rigors of campaign life, clearing her calendar of all but the most important events until at least the middle of October.
Her official campaign website doesn’t keep a running list of Hillary’s appearances, but Hillary’s Speeches has a calendar of all her upcoming events, and aside from the debates, Clinton is clearly taking it easy.
Apart from yesterday’s rally in Orlando, where she focused, perhaps ironically, on an “inclusive economy” that featured job opportunities for the infirm and the disabled, Clinton has attended only a handful of events in September. She left a Tuesday fundraiser in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, up in the air, and handed off a few of her earlier September events to members of her immediate family.
In late September and early October, it looks like Chelsea Clinton will be taking the lead for her mother, with events in the swing states of Ohio, where the latest polls have Donald Trump running slightly ahead, and Michigan. Senator Elizabeth Warren will take the reins in New Hampshire on September 24, and the stars of The West Wing will attempt to recruit millennials into Clinton’s camp, despite being the cast of a show that went off their air before most millennials were born.
After Tuesday’s debate, First Lady Michelle Obama will take up the campaign banner with events in Pennsylvania, Tim Kaine will spearhead efforts in Virginia, and Sen. Cory Booker will hold down Georgia.
Hillary has one event on the books: a fundraiser in Washington, D.C. She doesn’t officially return to the campaign trail until October 19.
Obviously, the campaign is also trying to remain fluid through the next 40 days, sending the candidate herself to only the most important rallies and events, and switching up the schedule to accommodate fluctuating polls and actual swinging states.
But her reticence to put her schedule down on paper looks like she’s leaving the possibility open that she may need frequent naps, breaks and “time off.” Donald Trump, conversely, has at least two events scheduled for the weekend before the first debate. And he’s more than happy to rub it in.
Hillary Clinton is taking the day off again, she needs the rest. Sleep well Hillary – see you at the debate!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 20, 2016
He’s earned the right to, it seems: he’s now leading in several states Clinton once comfortably held, and she’s been reduced to asking television audiences why she isn’t “50 points ahead.”
