Hillary
Clinton campaigned Friday in the company of friends and celebrities,
first flanked by the billionaire businessman Mark Cuban in Pittsburgh
and Detroit, and then at a concert in Cleveland with Jay Z and Beyoncé.
High-wattage political leaders fanned out for her around the country:
Her husband, Bill, stumped in Colorado, as President Obama rallied
voters in North Carolina.
By comparison, Donald J. Trump was a lonely figure.
In
the final days of the presidential race, Mr. Trump’s political
isolation has made for an unusual spectacle on the campaign trail — and
perhaps a limiting factor in his dogged comeback bid.
When
it comes to bolstering Mr. Trump, the Republican Party is not sending
its best: As party leaders have disavowed him or declined to back his
candidacy, Mr. Trump has been left instead with an eclectic group of
backup players to aid him in his last dash for votes. Though polls show
Mr. Trump drawing closer to Mrs. Clinton, the most prominent Republicans
in key swing states still fear that his unpopularity may taint them by
association.
Mr.
Trump acknowledged the relative bareness of his events at a rally on
Friday night: In defiant language, Mr. Trump hailed the size of the
crowd packed into an arena in Hershey, Pa.
“By
the way, I didn’t have to bring J. Lo or Jay Z — the only way she gets
anybody,” he said. “ I am here all by myself. Just me — no guitar, no
piano, no nothing.”
Campaigning
in New Hampshire earlier on Friday, Mr. Trump did not appear with
either Senator Kelly Ayotte, a Republican seeking re-election, or Chris
Sununu, the Republican nominee for governor. Ms. Ayotte withdrew her
endorsement of Mr. Trump last month, and Mr. Sununu has kept an awkward
distance from Mr. Trump in his closely divided state.
But
Mr. Sununu’s father, John H. Sununu, 77, a former governor known for
his irascible temper, introduced Mr. Trump with a crude joke about the
Clintons.
“Do
you think Bill was referring to Hillary when he said, ‘I did not have
sex with that woman?’” Mr. Sununu cracked, drawing laughter from the
crowd.
Mrs.
Clinton, in contrast, has sought to overwhelm the political map with
popular advocates for her campaign, deploying them to reinforce her
support in the biggest states that will decide the election. Her
surrogates have matched their schedules to voting deadlines across the
country: In Fayetteville, N.C., Mr. Obama implored voters to turn out
and cast ballots before the end of early voting on Saturday, and read a
letter from Grace Bell Hardison, a 100-year-old North Carolinian whom
local Republican officials recently sought to disqualify from voting.
In
every speech this week, Mr. Obama has told his crowd the address of a
nearby polling place; in Fayetteville, he notified them that there was
an early voting location across the street.
And
Mr. Obama appealed for calm when a man waving a Trump sign briefly
interrupted the event, drawings boos before the man was ushered out of
the arena at Fayetteville State University.
Mr.
Obama told the audience that the Trump supporter, who was wearing a
beret and military-style coat with medals, deserved their respect
because he appeared to be an older veteran.
“And don’t boo,” Mr. Obama said, as he was drowned out by thousands of people shouting “Vote!” in response.
Mrs.
Clinton also had Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. campaigning in
Wisconsin and Senator Bernie Sanders in Iowa on Friday. And after her
appearance with Jay Z in Cleveland, Mrs. Clinton was due in Philadelphia
on Saturday for a concert with Katy Perry and Stevie Wonder, and then
back in Ohio with LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers star. Her
schedule culminates on Monday in what may be the biggest event of her
campaign since the convention: an election-eve rally in the city with
her husband, Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle.
In
Pittsburgh on Friday, Mrs. Clinton basked in the embrace of popular
figures, including Mr. Cuban and a phalanx of former Pittsburgh
Steelers: Walking onstage, she hailed “my two escorts, Mel Blount and
Franco Harris,” both football Hall of Famers, and promoted the support
of the Rooney family, which owns the team.
Mr.
Cuban, the colorful owner of the Dallas Mavericks and a television
personality, denounced Mr. Trump, telling voters the Republican nominee
would sell them out for a check from Presidents Vladimir V. Putin of
Russia or Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
“Do
you think he cares more about you or his bank account?” Mr. Cuban asked
the crowd. “Can you trust Donald Trump? Absolutely not.”
Advisers
to Mr. Trump have argued publicly that he still has a path to victory
in the race, while privately insisting to donors that they see new
political opportunity in three states long seen as leaning toward Mrs.
Clinton. They are particularly keen on Michigan, New Mexico and Nevada,
according to Republicans briefed on their strategy, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity.
But
in each of those states, the best-known local Republicans have shunned
Mr. Trump: The Republican governors of all three states have withheld
their support, and Representative Joe Heck of Nevada, the Republican
nominee for Senate there, withdrew his endorsement of Mr. Trump last
month. (Mr. Heck has given indistinct signals since as to whether he
will vote for Mr. Trump.) Though local elected officials and some
members of Congress have campaigned with him, Mr. Trump has almost
entirely lacked the political star power of a conventional campaign.
Mr.
Trump’s surrogate operation took another blow on Friday with the
conviction of two former associates of Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey
for engineering a plot to snarl traffic on the George Washington
Bridge. Mr. Christie, a Trump ally who has been leading his presidential
transition team, was scheduled to campaign for Mr. Trump in New
Hampshire over the weekend.
Mrs.
Clinton’s campaign quickly seized on the convictions to try to
embarrass Mr. Trump. Wryly invoking one of Mr. Trump’s signature lines,
John D. Podesta, the campaign chairman, told reporters that Mr. Trump
ought to “start by draining his own swamp and asking Mr. Christie to
resign as the head of his transition.”
And
certain leaders on the right who have given Mr. Trump their nominal
backing have steered clear of appearing with him in public — or even
uttering his name. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, a former rival of Mr.
Trump who campaigned this week in Iowa with Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana,
Mr. Trump’s running mate, praised Mr. Pence warmly but declined to
mention Mr. Trump.
The
House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, who has endorsed Mr. Trump but declined to
campaign on his behalf, told a Wisconsin radio host on Friday that it
was essential for Republicans to “come home” and vote for the party’s
entire ticket. Mr. Ryan planned to campaign with Mr. Pence over the
weekend in Wisconsin.
But
while Mr. Ryan asked voters on Friday, forcefully and repeatedly, to
support Senator Ron Johnson, the state’s embattled incumbent, he
mentioned Mr. Trump only once and in passing.
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