Harris and Trump in final effort to win White House

THE Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, has vowed to “represent a new generation of leadership” as the US elections head into the final days of what opinion polls suggest will be one of the closest races in history.

Harris is ahead by just one point, 48 per cent to 47 per cent – a significantly tighter margin than she enjoyed several weeks ago, the Guardian said. In her battle to lure in undecided voters, she has sought to distance herself not only from Republican rival Donald Trump, but also current president Joe Biden.

“My presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency. Like every new president that comes in to office, I will bring my life experiences, my professional experiences, and fresh and new ideas. I represent a new generation of leadership,” Harris said in an interview with Fox News.

“In the last decade, we have been burdened with the kind of rhetoric coming from Donald Trump that has been designed and implemented to divide our country and have Americans literally point fingers at each other; rhetoric and an approach to leadership that suggests the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down instead of what we all know. The strength of leadership is based on who you lift up.

“The strength of an American president which is one who understands that the vast majority of us have more in common than what separates us. That is turning the page on rhetoric that people are frankly exhausted of,” she added.

The winner on November 5 will govern a nation of more than 330 million people. However, the contest will almost certainly be decided by just tens of thousands of voters – a tiny fraction of the populace – in a handful of states.

Polls show either Harris or Trump holds substantial or somewhat comfortable leads in 43 of the states.

Barring an upset in one of those states, that leaves the outcome to the remaining seven states – a northern tier of three states (Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania), two states in the southeast (North Carolina and Georgia) and two in the southwest (Arizona and Nevada).

Among those seven battlegrounds, Pennsylvania, the most populous, stands out as the most likely state to determine whether Harris or Trump is the next president. The candidates’ strategies reflect this reality, with the vast majority of their ad spending and campaign events directed at those seven states that swing between political parties.

On Monday (21), Trump hit the campaign trail in hurricane-hit North Carolina, having heavily criticised the government’s disaster response after at least 124 people were killed there by storm Helene.

Emergency services were still distributing food and water in the worst-affected parts of the state almost a month after Helene slammed into the southeastern United States, leaving more than 240 dead in its wake.

Trump was scheduled to hold a campaign rally in the city of Greenville, while Harris was set to address supporters in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Last Sunday (20), the White House said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had “approved more than $300 million [£23.1m] in assistance across the state, including $118m [£90.0m] in individual assistance to more than 87,600 households.”

The immediate aftermath of the storm left many without access to power, drinking water or shelter, leading Trump to sharply criticise Biden and Harris.

The president and vice-president have rejected the allegations, accusing Trump of spreading misinformation about the response for political gain.

“There’s been a reckless, irresponsible and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies,” Biden said, speaking after Helene and before a second major storm, Milton, slammed into Florida.

Harris and Trump are virtually tied in the battleground states, according to a New York Times polling average, and North Carolina is no different – Harris stood at 49 per cent in the state, to Trump’s 48 per cent.

Early voting is already underway in several states across the country, including in North Carolina, where more than a million people had cast their ballots as of last Sun[1]day, according to official data.

Harris appeared to acknowledge the closeness of the race, saying she would leave “nothing on the field” in her push to win the election.

“This is an election for president of the United States. It’s not supposed to be easy. It is not supposed to be a cakewalk for anyone,” she said.

The 60-yearold – who celebrated her birthday last Sunday – made campaign stops at black churches in Georgia.

Throughout the day, Harris criticised Trump’s increasingly disparaging, dark language on the trail, saying in an interview on the MSNBC news channel that Americans “deserve so much better.”

“Donald Trump should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States. He has not earned the right,” Harris said.

Recently Trump has likened undocumented migrants to animals, threatened revenge against his perceived enemies, praised autocrats like Vladimir Putin of Russia and described America as a ruined nation only he can fix.

And over the weekend, he used an expletive to describe Harris.

Addressing a rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday (19), Trump referred to Harris as “a s**t vicepresident,” to roars of approval from his supporters.

Harris, speaking at a Baptist megachurch near Atlanta, urged a black congregation to embrace compassionate values while others “spread hate, sow fear and cause chaos.”

She also appeared alongside Stevie Wonder, who sang Harris his rendition of Happy Birthday while urging voters to “think about more than yourself when you vote.”

Trump’s campaign has painted a dark image of a country gripped by crime and illegal immigration, describing some undocumented migrants as animals and accusing them of “invading” the country.

At campaign events, he has increasingly gone offscript, using bizarre and sometimes expletive-laden language – often to the delight of his die-hard supporters.

Harris, who is almost 18 years Trump’s junior, has increasingly drawn attention to his age, raising questions about his fitness to serve for a second term.

Last Sunday, Trump insisted his age was not slowing him down, telling a Pennsylvania town hall that “we’ve had some of the greatest leaders in world history that are in their 80s”.

But Harris said of her Republican rival, “If you listen to Donald Trump, if you watch any of his rallies, he’s the one who tends to demean and belittle and diminish the American people. He’s the one who talks about an enemy within, talking about the American people, suggesting he would turn the American military on the American people.”