Democrats Begin Their Closing Pitch in Philly With a Tailored Message: ‘Go Birds’

PHILADELPHIA — Robert De Niro, John Kerry and two congresswomen walk into an Eagles tailgate.

No, it’s not the start to a bad joke. It’s the beginning of the election’s end, as Democrats wrapped up their get-out-the vote effort in Pennsylvania on Sunday by appealing to a core constituency: Eagles fans.

“You may have heard that Pennsylvania is a battleground state, and you may also have heard that people come out and tailgate for the Eagles,” Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, one of the two local congresswomen hosting a Harris-Walz tailgate on Sunday, told NOTUS. “So we are going where the people are.”

Scanlon almost immediately joined a group of women playing flip cup with “LFG HARRIS WALZ” cups.

For both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, most paths to victory run through Pennsylvania. The state’s 19 electoral votes are crucial this year, and the race here remains within the margin of error in most polls.

Both campaigns have invested enormous resources in the state, and both campaigns have different goals for Philadelphia. But for Harris, Philadelphia and the surrounding “collar counties” must show high turnout for her in order to counter Trump’s popularity in the rest of the state.

The vice president will host her final rally Monday night on Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and the city has already shuttered many roads in anticipation of the huge crowds.

On Sunday, however, it was about the Eagles. And the Eagles tailgate was the perfect place to reach the voters who both parties need. What ensued in the efforts to get them was quintessential Philadelphia — unfiltered, authentic, equal parts charming and obnoxious. It was a true Philly experience, like booing your own head coach after going for it on fourth down and not converting. (Disclosure: Both reporters for this story are from the Philadelphia suburbs and both are Eagles fans.)

De Niro, a native New Yorker who only played an Eagles fan in “Silver Linings Playbook,” came to Philadelphia embracing the traditional language of the city. “This is fucking madness,” he shouted into the microphone after describing Trump’s CBS News lawsuit.

But De Niro quickly learned that if you dish it out in Philly, you better be able to take it. He was met with the same language as an apparent Trump supporter shouted, “Fuck De Niro!”

Soon, a cadre of Democrats rushed to De Niro’s defense, protesting the counterprotester and hitting him with a coordinated chant of “ASS-HOLE, ASS-HOLE!” (Like we said, classic Philly.)

Still, the jaunt to the parking lot outside of Lincoln Financial Field was worth it for these Democrats. As former Sen. Kerry — the 2004 Democratic Party’s presidential nominee — told NOTUS, “It’s very close. Every vote really does matter.”

De Niro literally begged fans to turn out for Harris. “Let’s please, please, get it done. I’m begging you. I’m imploring you, this is our last chance,” he said.

And Rep. Madeleine Dean, the other congresswoman hosting the Harris-Walz tailgate, told NOTUS that the Philly push would not end after the game. Her message to fans: Enjoy the game, then “finish it out.”

Democrats aren’t just relying on motivating the voters who were actually at the tailgate. They invited around 15 content creators to blast the day’s event out to their various followings, including Philadelphia-based Democratic strategist Annie Wu Henry — known for helping Sen. John Fetterman build a formidable TikTok presence — who described the strategy as making it “cool” to vote.

Sunday’s efforts were just part of the two-minute drill for Democrats, however, building on months of football-themed strategic plays from both sides that have failed to jolt the state from its fifty-fifty split in the polling averages. Last week, for example, former President Barack Obama golfed with Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, accompanied by beloved quarterback Jalen Hurts, who couldn’t golf per his contract.

So tailored has the Democrats’ Eagles-related outreach been that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stoked a social media feud last month when she suggested knocking on doors during an Eagles game. As online commenters pointed out, prospective voters are likely to be home, but they also may be cranky, depending on the moment in the game and Nick Sirianni’s playcalling.

Harris herself was not in attendance on Sunday. Nor was Trump, who attended a Steelers game with an entourage of Republican acolytes last month. But the Democrats weren’t the only politicos or fans getting in on the tailgate action.

Both parties have run Philadelphia-themed ads during the last few Eagles games. The Democratic National Committee flew a banner emblazoned with “Sack Project 2025” over Lincoln Financial Field in early October. And on Sunday, they flew another with “Go Birds! Beat Trump! Vote Kamala!”

But the GOP banners were larger and more frequent this week.

“Fearless. Unshakable. Vote Trump!” read one banner encircling the stadium before kickoff, which also included that now-mythic image of Trump pumping his fist after the failed assassination attempt in July.

The banner wasn’t the only place that image showed up at the tailgate. Eddie Grzeskiewicz, of Northeast, Philadelphia, proudly showed the image to NOTUS. He had it inked into his forearm.

Grzeskiewicz — who also wore a Trump-Vance cowboy hat — told NOTUS that “America is going downhill.”

“I’m scared. I’m scared because I’m scared for America. I’d like to be confident, but I see what happened last time,” he said, referencing his belief that the election was stolen.

At the last home game, Republican Senate challenger Dave McCormick tailgated outside the stadium. But his efforts may have failed to inspire voters after he enraged the fans he was trying to court by appearing to suggest he was actually rooting for the Steelers. (He spent this Sunday in Erie and Somerset while boasting about his Steelers bona fides.)

One Trumpworld influencer, Jack Posobiec, posted a flurry of videos and photos on X detailing his journey through the Eagles stadium in a MAGA hat. He claimed that his visible Trump support was well received by the crowd while also saying a “couple drunk libs tried to get the MAGA hats off the Poso bros. It did not go well for them.”

Apparently — like all things in the Pennsylvania political world right now — Posobiec’s exploits were a mixed bag.

The football game itself was the same kind of back-and-forth mess, just like the last month of campaigning. The Eagles jumped out to an early lead, but then looked like they might lose to the struggling Jaguars — until a last-minute interception secured the win.

“We get another Super Bowl within four years,” Mike Pia from Chester County, who is supporting Trump, predicted to NOTUS. But he said he would take another Trump victory over another Super Bowl win.

“We can’t do four more years of the economy,” he said.

After Sunday, it’s still possible that Pia could get both of his wishes.

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Anna Kramer and Riley Rogerson are reporters at NOTUS.