With one week left until the US presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris addressed supporters from the Ellipse in Washington, DC. This is where his opponent, former President Donald Trump, addressed his supporters before the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Meanwhile, President Trump was in Allentown, Pennsylvania, just two days after a comedian made a racist comment about Puerto Rico from the podium during a rally in New York, sparking a storm of criticism.
With six days left until the Nov. 5 vote, both candidates, their running mates, and their surrogates are looking to shore up support before Election Day.
What’s the latest from the polls?
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that Harris’ lead over Trump narrowed in the final stages of the election.
Nationally, he holds a slim lead of just 1 percentage point, compared to 44% to 43% for Republicans, according to the poll. The poll had a margin of error of about 3 percentage points in either direction.
Polls also show that Harris’ lead has steadily declined since late September. The previous Reuters/Ipsos poll from October 16-21 had Harris leading Trump by two points.
Separate telephone and online polls by Rasmussen, a prominent US polling firm, suggest Ms Harris faces a favorability challenge. The survey found that 47 percent of likely U.S. voters view her favorably, with 33 percent having a “very” favorable opinion. However, 51% have an unfavorable impression of her, and 44% have a “very” unfavorable impression of her.
According to a FiveThirtyEight poll, Harris has a 1.4 point lead in national polls, but this is also within the poll’s margin of error.
The battleground states that are likely to determine the outcome of the election remain close.
These seven states include Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nevada.
Harris maintains a narrow lead in Michigan and narrow leads in Nevada and Wisconsin, according to FiveThirtyEight’s daily poll tracker. Meanwhile, Trump holds a slight advantage over Harris in Pennsylvania and even larger leads in North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia.
In all seven states, the candidates are within two points of each other, within the poll’s margin of error, and each state is in a tight race just days before the final vote.
What was Kamala Harris doing on Sunday?
Harris spoke from the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., in what her campaign called her final appeal to voters.
“Mr. Trump has spent a decade trying to keep Americans divided and afraid of each other. That’s who he is, but I’m here tonight, America, to say that’s not us. ,” Harris said.
Campaign officials said more than 75,000 people attended Harris’ rally, nearly four times as many as originally expected.
Harris also reminded the audience that this is where President Trump sought to “subvert the will of the people” on January 6, 2021. That day, thousands of supporters of then-President Trump stormed the building in an effort to overturn his election loss. , forcing the senator to flee for safety.
“Tonight, I’m going to talk to you about the choices and the stakes in this election,” Harris said. “We know who Donald Trump is.
“He is the same man who stood in this very spot almost four years ago and sent an armed mob into the Capitol to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election.”
Harris concluded her debate speech by telling voters, “You are not a vessel for a would-be dictator’s conspiracy.”
“The United States of America is the greatest idea ever devised by mankind,” Harris said. “In seven days, we – and each of you – have the power to turn the page and begin writing the next chapter of the most extraordinary story ever told,” she added. . Supporters of Ms. Harris in Washington, D.C., said they were anxious with just a week left until Election Day.
“I’m just waiting for her to win,” Bruce Purvis, 34, told Al Jazeera, adding that he thought the Democratic candidate did a good job of not just running against President Trump. . “I appreciate that she focused on the problems and not just the shortcomings of the other person,” he said.
“I care about people the most. Her focus on the middle class is what sets her aside.”
Supporters attend a Kamala Harris campaign event on the National Mall (Leah Millis/Reuters)
What was Donald Trump doing on Monday?
Trump began his rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with a short message to voters: “Are you better now than you were four years ago?” The crowd responded with a loud “No.”
“I want you to be excited again… They embarrassed us. Kamala embarrassed us. She doesn’t have what it takes. Dream big again.”
He called on his supporters to “stand up and tell Kamala, ‘You’re fired'” next Tuesday. This is a reference to how President Trump ends episodes of his reality show, The Apprentice.
Trump’s speech in Allentown included rhetoric targeting immigrants, at one point saying the United States had become a “giant dumpster” for countries like Venezuela to send criminals to. “We are going to protect our men, our women, and our country,” he asserted.
President Trump attends a campaign event in Allentown, Pennsylvania (Brendan McDiarmid/Reuters)
Al Jazeera’s Alan Fischer, reporting from Allentown, Pennsylvania, said: “We’re hearing Donald Trump backtracking on his last message. Essentially Kamala broke it (and) Donald Trump… That can be fixed,” he said.
“He said he’s been through a series of things that he believes Harris is responsible for, including inflation and ‘border invasions,’ and all of that will end on day one,” Fisher added.
Fischer said that when Trump spoke to a crowd of 10,000 to 12,000 people and spoke at a Harris rally, “sometimes they’re bussed in and if they’re videotaped. We will use artificial intelligence.”
According to pollster FiveThirtyEight, Trump has a narrow lead over Harris in Pennsylvania.
Supporters line up outside the PPL Center where President Trump spoke at a campaign rally in Allentown (Eloisa López/Reuters)
What will happen to the Harris campaign and the Trump campaign?
Kamala Harris’ campaign in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin
Harris and Trump will visit North Carolina, another battleground state, on Wednesday.
Trump holds a significant lead over Harris in North Carolina.
With less than a week until the election, Harris is focused on getting her message across in key battleground states. In addition to North Carolina, he plans to visit Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
However, experts believe that some of her arguments may not be persuasive enough to resonate with all audiences.
One of her key messages is that a Trump victory could pose a threat to American democracy, but experts don’t think this is strong enough.
“I doubt that claims that Trump is a fascist and anti-democratic will move many voters…If you look at the data, most Americans are prioritizing other issues. About 60% of Americans ~70% think democracy is in some way at risk, but look at what issues are most important to them and what drives their votes. “Less than 3 percent of people cite democracy,” said associate Thomas Gift. A professor of political science at University College London’s School of Public Policy told Al Jazeera.
“If she wants to win the swing vote, she will have to base her case on the abortion issue, which Democrats have a strong economic advantage for. That means pushing back against President Trump’s accusation that the current administration is responsible for abortions. “So that she can make a strong case on the cost of living crisis, on immigration, for example on how to deal with challenges at the border,” he added.
Meanwhile, President Trump claimed that Harris “abandoned her family in North Carolina.”
“Mr. Trump will end this madness when he returns to the White House. He has a track record of economic success from his first term, and as the 47th president of the United States, he will put even more money in people’s pockets. ” his website says.
He will also be in Wisconsin, where he plans to hold a rally in Green Bay. Pollsters say Harris has a narrow lead over Trump in the state.
