(AFP) – One of the tightest US election races of modern times entered its final, two-week stretch Tuesday, with Republican Donald Trump making a pitch to Latino voters as Democratic rival Kamala Harris sits down for a national TV interview. Both campaigns are pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into a last push for undecided voters who could tilt the balance in their favor, with polls showing the candidates in a dead heat ahead of Election Day.
About 18 million Americans have already voted by mail or in person — representing more than 10 percent of the total in 2020 — and turnout could well be the deciding factor in who wins the White House. Whatever the result, Americans will make history on November 5: They will either elect the first woman president in the world’s leading superpower — or they will put the first convicted felon into the White House.
In Florida, Trump on Tuesday gathered Latino leaders for a roundtable event, where one speaker falsely claimed Harris and outgoing President Joe Biden were “human traffickers” while pushing false claims that Trump won the 2020 election. The former president still refuses to accept his defeat at the polls four years ago and is expected to reject the result in November if he loses again — potentially pitching the United States into chaos.
While speaking at the event, Trump, whose anti-migrant rhetoric has grown more extreme by the day, called the border the “biggest problem,” falsely claiming the Biden administration was flying “big, beautiful Boeing jets right over the border with hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants.” Some polls appear to be giving the Republican, who at 78 is the oldest nominee from a major party in US history, a slight edge recently — but all within the margin of error.
– The Obama factor –
Harris — the vice president who only entered the race in July when Biden made the stunning decision to drop out — will give an interview to NBC on Tuesday. The 60-year-old is also deploying two of her party’s most popular emissaries onto the campaign trail: Barack and Michelle Obama. The former Democratic president and first lady will appear at various rallies in the coming days in three of the seven most hotly contested swing states that are likely to decide the election’s outcome.
Rapper Eminem, who grew up in Detroit, will introduce Barack Obama at a Harris campaign event in the Motor City on Tuesday, according to US media. After his Florida appearance, Trump is set to fly to North Carolina, for an event that is supposed to be devoted to the economy. He rarely sticks to the topic at his rallies, however — instead, he has been criticized for a tumultuous few weeks that have featured rambling monologues and threats about weaponizing the military against Democrats whom he calls “the enemy from within.”
One recent televised town hall veered into a surreal, impromptu music session as Trump abandoned discussion of the election to play his favorite hits while swaying on stage. The Harris campaign has begun to hammer at his mental and physical fitness to occupy the Oval Office. But a tide of MAGA-capped supporters continue to flock to his events, convinced that he is the victim of political persecution, or that Democrats are instigating threats against him.
Democrats are also seeking to woo moderate Republicans turned off by Trump’s ominous rhetoric and scandals. Harris has sought to frame herself as a “joyful warrior” seeking to turn the page on Trump’s years of outrage and move into a new generation of American political leadership. In her own efforts to target Latino voters, Harris will tape an interview Tuesday with Spanish-language TV network Telemundo likely to focus on jobs, housing, and the cost of living.
– Camille CAMDESSUS
© 2024 AFP
