The U.S. approached a historic Election Day on Tuesday (November 5, 2024), with U.S Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump making their final cases to voters across battleground states, especially Pennsylvania, in a election that is tight and where both candidates have a shot at winning.
This year is historic for several reasons, including that Ms Harris, 60, is the first Indian American and Black woman to seek the Presidency. Mr Trump, 78, is the first former President to be convicted of a felony and is seeking a second non-consecutive term, only the second is U.S. history. He has also recently survived two assassination attempts.
Ms Harris’s closing messages sought to strike an optimistic note. In Michigan on Sunday, she said the U.S. had an opportunity for a “fresh start” and could “turn the page on a decade of politics driven by fear and division.”
Mr Trump’s closing arguments have focused on security of the U.S.-Mexico border, attacking Democrats and saying he will improve the economy.
“The day I take office the migrant invasion ends and the restoration of our country begins,” Mr Trump said in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Monday.
Mr Trump, who in more than one instant, resorted to violent language in recent days , attacked the press on Sunday at a rally in Lititz, Pennsylvania.
Pointing to the ballistic glass around the podium Mr Trump pointed to a gap in the panels in front of hm and said ,
“And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don’t mind that so much, I don’t mind that,” he said.
Mr Trump frequently points to the media space calling journalists ‘fake news’ during this campaign rallies.
His campaign denied that the remarks were about the media and that they were about the threats to him.
Mr Trump also said he should not have left the White House.
“We had the best economy ever, we had the wall, we had everything,” he said referring to the border being most secure on the day he left office.
“I shouldn’t have left, I mean, honestly…” Mr. Trump said, implying that he had a choice of whether to leave the White House after losing the 2020 elections, the results of which he sought to overturn.
Both candidates continue to get voters to vote.
“And if you don’t vote, you’re stupid,” Mr Trump said in Lititz.
“If we get everybody out and vote there’s not a thing they can do,” he said on Monday in Raleigh.
Mr Trump has also created doubt over the electoral process and its fairness. Over the last few days he appeared to be leaving the door open to challenging the outcome as he had done in 2020.
Mr Trump kicked off the last day of campaigning in Raliegh, North Carolina with scheduled stops in Pennsylvania and a final stop in Grand Rapids Michigan, where some Arab and Muslim American voters have stepped back from the Democratic Party, because they have felt the Biden-Harris administration has condoned and supported Israel’s actions against in Gaza. Mr Trump has been courting Jewish and Muslim voters in the state.
In Michigan on Sunday, Ms Harris said the number of deaths of innocent Palestinians was “unconscionable” and that the war had to end and that hostages (taken from Israel) had to be freed.
Ms Harris is spending all day Monday in Pennsylvania, likely the most crucial state in the path to the White House. Starting in Joe Biden’s hometown Scranton and ending it in Philadelphia, where she will be joined by celebrities such as former talk-show host Oprah Winfrey and singers such as Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, who is Peurto Rican.
Ms Harris is reaching out to the Puerto Ricans, who constitute the largest Hispanic group in Pennsylvania. Her campaign is hoping to capitalize on those turned off by remarks last week at Mr Trump’s New York rally, where a comedian called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and he and others who spoke before Mr Trump made racist references.
In North Carolina, Mr Trump called Peurto Rico “great” as he continues to contain any fallout with the community before November 5.
By Sunday more than 77 million Americans had already voted. Election officials called for patience as ballots are counted, warning that challenges could emerge but that they were prepared.
“Americans can have confidence the election is secure, and the results will be counted accurately,” the National Association of Secretaries of State and National Association of State Election Directors said.
Published – November 04, 2024 11:52 pm IST
