The Democratic National Committee flew four planes carrying banners with anti-Trump messaging over college football games in four major swing states in the upcoming election on Saturday, it announced.
The four stadiums set to see the banners are Michigan Stadium at the University of Michigan, Sanford Stadium at the University of Georgia, Beaver Stadium at Pennsylvania State University and Camp Randall Stadium at the University of Wisconsin.
Photographs on social media show the DNC made good on its promise in Pennsylvania.
banner plane above Beaver Stadium: “Penn St. Beat Trump. Sack Project 2025” pic.twitter.com/WFCpC1XZXf
— Daniel Gallen (@danieljtgallen) September 7, 2024
The planes flying over Michigan and Penn State seek to tie Trump and running mate JD Vance to the far-right manifesto Project 2025, created by the Heritage Foundation. Trump has disavowed Project 2025 multiple times and says he has no intention of implementing its full policy list if he does win the election. However, figures who worked in Trump’s first administration contributed to the project.
One of the banners also aims to exploit one of the most historic rivalries in college football. The plane set to fly over Michigan will fly a banner that reads, “J.D. Vance [loves] Ohio State [plus] Project 2025.” Michigan and Ohio State are considered to boast the fiercest rivalry in the sport, and Vance spent much of his childhood in Ohio, went to Ohio State for undergrad and claims to be a life-long Ohio State Buckeyes fan.
Vance previously revealed that he had told Trump that his loyalty to the Buckeyes could impact the former president’s chances in Michigan this November when Trump was selecting Vance as his running mate.
“When he first asked me to be a VP I was like, well, you know, hopefully we don’t lose Michigan by like 900 votes, because you’re going to regret it. ‘Cause it’s probably just a thousand p—d-off Wolverine fans who wouldn’t vote for a Buckeye. But I think that most Michiganders are going to be able to put sports rivalries aside and put the country first, which is what, of course, all of us believe is the most important thing,” Vance said during an appearance on OutKick’s “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show.”
The Democrats’ latest campaign gimmick comes just three days before the first presidential debate between Trump and Harris on ABC News, as Harris has fallen steeply in some polls over the last few weeks, especially in key battleground states.
Nate Silver of 538’s latest projection on Friday showed Trump gaining ground on Harris in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia.
