Construction on the new White House ballroom is seen from the Washington Monument, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Washington.
| Photo Credit: AP

US Vice President Kamala Harris sparked controversy and ridicule after appearing to forget the Pledge of Allegiance during a swearing-in ceremony for new senators at Capitol Hill.

The incident, which was captured on video, has now gone viral and showed Harris starting the pledge but leaving out key words, including “to the flag.” She trailed off as others continued reciting the pledge, seemingly unsure of the correct words.

The official Pledge of Allegiance reads: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Kamala just completely messed up the Pledge of Allegiance on the Senate floor.
pic.twitter.com/eoCqa1wdat

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 3, 2025

Harris’s mistake did not go unnoticed, and she faced swift criticism on social media. Conservative commentators and users were quick to pounce on the error, with former Trump campaign aide Chester Tam calling it “absolutely pathetic.”

Donald Trump Jr. shared the video on X with three laughing emojis, while Vice President-elect JD Vance was seen smiling and laughing during the ceremony.

Conservative commentator Collin Rugg remarked, “JUST IN: Kamala Harris appears to forget the Pledge of Allegiance during the swearing-in ceremony for new senators. This woman is a heartbeat away from being the president.”

Despite the criticism, Harris seemed to take the mistake in stride. She was seen smiling back at Republicans after the ceremony.

As President of the Senate, Harris plays a crucial role in swearing in new senators and overseeing key proceedings. Her mistake has raised questions about her preparedness for the role and her ability to represent the United States on the national stage.

In leadership, every second counts and every word counts. Let’s hope that during these important events, clarity and focus stay at the forefront. #LeadershipMatters

— Small World (@smallworld0011) January 3, 2025

The incident has also sparked a wider debate about the importance of the Pledge of Allegiance and the role of public officials in upholding American traditions.

While some have defended Harris’s mistake as a simple error, others have argued that it reflects a broader lack of respect for American institutions and values.

Stuff happens. Let it go

— B Batch (@BobBatchelder2) January 3, 2025

One user on X has commented, “In leadership, every second counts and every word counts. Let’s hope that during these important events, clarity and focus stay at the forefront. #LeadershipMatters” while another has said, “Stuff happens. Let it go”.
 

Washington:

Top Senate Democrats – Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed and New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen are calling for an investigation into Elon Musk’s alleged ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his top officials. 

They sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Defence Department Inspector General Robert Storch raising “serious questions regarding Mr Musk’s reliability as a government contractor and a [security] clearance holder”.

The lawmakers want the Pentagon and Justice Department to probe whether Musk’s relationships with a US adversary compromise national security, especially given his major government contracts.

Musk’s reported “multiple, high-level conversations” with Putin since 2022 have raised eyebrows, despite the Kremlin’s denial, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

The billionaire’s response to the accusations was fiery, vowing to “nuke” those behind the claims on his X platform, “going to find out who’s making these accusations and nuke them”.

Reed and Shaheen question Musk’s reliability as a government contractor and security clearance holder, citing his alleged communications with Putin’s deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko.

The senators highlight Russia’s space ambitions as a direct threat to US national security. They’re concerned that Musk, with his top-secret level clearance, doesn’t report his foreign government contacts, unlike others with similar clearances. SpaceX’s deep involvement in US defense and intelligence infrastructure adds to the concerns.

Musk’s ties to the US government extend beyond contracts; he backed Trump’s 2024 election bid and participated in diplomatic efforts, including calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and meeting Argentinian President Javier Milei in Trump’s Florida home.

However, his recent visit to the Iranian UN ambassador’s residence in New York has sparked controversy, with Iran’s foreign minister denying the meeting took place.

The investigation request underscores growing scrutiny of Musk’s foreign connections and their implications for US national security.
 

Washington:

Disenchanted by the Democratic Party’s use of human rights as a political tool for countries such as India, and encouraged by Donald Trump’s stance on Hindu rights in Bangladesh, about 70 per cent of Hindu-Americans voted for the Republican presidential candidate in the November 5 elections, an eminent community leader has said.

“The Democratic Party has not really done much to court Indian Americans. Not only that, they have done things which are very insulting, infuriating, and humiliating to Indian Americans… When it comes specifically to India-related issues, number one, the Democrats, somehow or other, use human rights as a political tool,” influential Indian American Dr Bharat Barai told PTI in an interview.

Barai pointed out that there was little to no condemnation of the violence against Hindus in Bangladesh – where over 100 Hindus were killed, temples desecrated, and people forced to wear hijabs – by President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, or Vice President Kamala Harris.

He explained that, while the Hindu American population is small, they are a significant voting bloc, particularly in tight races. “I believe 70 percent of Hindu Americans voted for Trump this time,” he said.

Barai, who was in Washington DC this week to attend the Diwali celebrations at the US Capitol, said, “Trump got the benefit of doubt, partly based on his strong statement about Bangladeshi Hindus. But of course, people will judge Trump by what he does (after coming to office).”

He also noted that Trump’s appointments of two Hindu Americans — Vivek Ramaswamy and Tulsi Gabbard — to prominent positions has boosted his support within the community.

Barai exuded confidence that India US relationship would strengthen under the next administration, mainly because of the personal relationship between Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The two leader share a “special bond”, which was evident during Trump’s visit to India when he was given a “tumultuous welcome” at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the Hindu American said, hoping that this relationship will likely grow stronger.

“Trump did not try to cross India or needle India when he was the president. He was the one who had sort of turbocharged the process of Quad and now that will go even further because all the four countries, United States, Japan, Australia and India realise that China is becoming too aggressive in the Indo-Pacific region. All the four countries feel if they stay together, they will be able to counter China better,” he said.

Barai noted that in the recent election, Hindu Americans played a key role in Trump’s success, particularly in swing states like Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

“His margin in Georgia swelled over 180,000. I would say he owes 100,000 of those votes to Hindu Americans. His last statement about Bangladeshi Hindus, I think that won people over,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

As I walked out of my Upper West Side polling station in New York City after casting my vote, the lack of energy in America’s most liberal city was palpable. The pins being sold just outside said “Keep Kamala and Carry On-a-la”, but the calmness was about to explode. 

Donald Trump’s stunning comeback forces an acknowledgement that Americans do not want to simply carry on. Much like India earlier this year. They are increasingly tired of the financial pain that started after the 2008 financial crisis, rendering many of them under-employed. The most powerful ingredients of rapid global economic growth in our lifetimes—globalisation and technological replacement—have ricocheted back to cause acute pain at the working-class Americans’ dining tables. And they are hoping, against the odds, that their ballot can overpower that bullet.

This is precisely the reason why, much like the re-emergence of the former President, a defining trend is now categorising the American election cycle. And, I would argue, the Indian election cycle too.

Incumbents Beware

This is now the third presidential election since 2016 when the incumbent party has been voted out, a trend not seen since the 1970s when Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan were voted in quick succession as inflation eclipsed all else. Once is an accident. Twice, a coincidence. Three times, a pattern.

In India, the lack of a majority for the incumbent party this year was an indication of that very problem that is proving difficult for any global leader to resolve. In fact, there has been a dissipation of existing power if not an outright change in every major government across the world this year—from the UK and Italy to Germany and Japan, and others.

As Bill Clinton’s political strategist Jim Carville stated prophetically thirty years ago, “It’s the economy, stupid.” But some would point out that the stock markets are at an all-time high and economic growth was at par in both Trump and Biden years. So, why the discontent? Didn’t life seem good enough?

Yes, but only for the elite, whether in the US or India. The elite are the real beneficiaries of the riches-to-riches story. How long can you ignore the larger population that now has to work an average of 2.5 jobs to keep the same lifestyle as a decade ago? In the case of India, too, yes there are cheap mobile phones and food handouts, but job prospects cannot keep up with young aspirations.

In this discontented mix, a message like Trump’s, which primarily centres around inflation and its many symptoms—immigration being an obvious one—will obviously be attractive. But so is that of any politician who offers a change in the existing status quo. It is akin to a company changing multiple CEOs in the hope its fortunes will change, not realising that the problem lies in the product itself.

The Polarisation Card Is Losing Its Edge 

This election has broken several myths—the overriding one being polarisation—including that echo chambers are permanent and defined and will not sway voters from their trenches. That certainly was the case in 2016, when Trump’s winnability was attributed to a fringe base of non-college-educated men. But in 2024, Trump’s winnability is attributed to virtually all subsets.

A case in point is young men, and shockingly for the democrats, young men of colour—whether Latino or Indian-American—swinging in Trump’s favour. The Left is finally realizing that they cannot club all minorities together, much like the Right in India is realizing the majority cannot always be a single voting bloc. Their loyalty, and more importantly, their ethics, are being questioned. I disagree. This was not a vote for the messenger, it was a vote for the message. 

This election has stuck a needle into the bubble of polarisation that the world has sworn by throughout the last decade. Both sides tried to polarise voters, whether it was Trump with immigration or Harris with abortion. But it did not work. There are voters who have chosen Trump and abortion rights. The choice is no longer binary. Above all else, the voters in America are pragmatic.

The same is true for India. The 2024 India voting reflected the discontent among ordinary voters, where the economy superseded everything else. The conservative argument of caste or religious lines shaping voting patterns is increasingly becoming redundant. 

As it has long been said, democracy is a luxury when there is not enough food on the table. But there are also similarities between the out-of-touch ‘Khan market gang’ in India and America’s coastal elite. Instead of focusing on the real issue of voter pain, the Democrats’ and the Indian Opposition’s patronising tone of ‘How could you vote for him?’ reeked of moral superiority borne out of privilege, not realism.

Only Betting Markets Got It Right  

The media and the pollsters have got it so far wrong that they are in danger of losing their voice. These echo chambers are now functioning as cheerleaders of political thought. They dole out a narrative rather than acting as arbiters of reason. It is ironic that the most truthful picture came from sources that are often the most tainted in history—the betting markets in the US and the satta bazaar in India. Whether Trump’s sweep or the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) underperformance, they were the only ones who got it right.

Kamala Played Well

Kamala Harris also emerged as a hero to many. Clearly, many things that were out of her control went wrong for her: Biden’s selfishness in holding on to power, the war fatigue, and the all-important anti-incumbency. 

When my 10-year-old daughter accompanying me to the voting booth asked me why a woman gets passed yet again for the most powerful job in the world, I told her to walk tall the next day. Because in the shortest presidential campaign in American history, of only 107 days, Kamala managed to achieve the impossible and did better than any reasonable hope. LOTUS for POTUS simply did not have enough time to bloom.

I do not think America acted like it did in 2016 and chose to vote against a female President. The pain threshold that Trump pressed on was much lower on Maslow’s needs chart for the gender ceiling in American politics to even be a conversation. A famous meme from the Kamala campaign was a father going with his daughter to the polling booth and saying he was voting for her. I believe the father did still vote for his daughter, not necessarily as a mark of support for the candidate but as an act of hope of providing his family with a better life.

Trump Needs A Hail Mary 

But will Trump be able to deliver on that hope? In the America of the 1980s, the Republican party’s modern hero, Ronald Reagan, achieved the impossible as he took on the structural inflation problem, giving birth to decades of prosperity.

For Trump to leave the legacy he wants, he will have to be in offensive tackle mode for the next four years and deliver a magical Reaganesque solution to the working class pain. Or else, given the musical chairs game global politics has become, the Dems will be back in the White House in 2028.

(Namrata Brar is an Indian-American journalist, investigative reporter, and news anchor. She is the former US bureau chief of NDTV)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the authors

The results of the US elections held last week have produced both relief and shock in equal measure.

The world at large and the Americans in particular are relieved that even if the outcome was largely unexpected, it was unambiguous, decisive and uncontested. This belied many foreboding predictions. There was a clear swing towards the hard right, with the Republican Party making major gains. Donald Trump, its candidate, defied all odds to win the Presidency. The Republicans expanded their control of the Senate and are poised for a majority in the House of Representatives as well. Factoring in the right-leaning Supreme Court and Federal Reserve under pressure to ease its ‘tight money’ policy—the GOP has never had it this good for a long time.

A Rude Shock For All

On the other hand, the “winner taking it all” outcome was a rude surprise not only for the defeated Democrats but also for the psephologists and the mainstream media, who predicted a victory for Kamala Harris and a greater countervailing balance in Congress. Few expected a massive popular endorsement of Mr Trump, a populist with controversial views often bordering on unsubstantiated extremism. To many, the outcome raised questions about the maturity of the electorate and fidelity to the electoral process itself. Despite a booming economy, low inflation and low unemployment, the American voter succumbed to clever manipulation of popular perceptions with pet popular peeves about immigration, globalisation and personal economics being weaponised. For many, this was not an outcome the US deserved.

But now that this is a fait accompli, the larger question that needs to be answered is: How will this binary split play out during the incoming Trump Presidency? A lot would depend on whether Trump 2.0 would hark back to Trump 1.0 or whether the experiences of being the 45th President have been internalised for the 47th Presidency. This requires a granular analysis to discern the likely course of Trump 2.0.

An Unapologetic Trump 

To begin with, some basic observations are in order. Firstly, when the 78-year-old person concerned is not only unapologetic but triumphant about his past term, it raises some pertinent issues about his plans for the future in a vastly different context. Most of the catchy electoral promises made by candidate Trump were bare-bone intentions without precise targets. Similarly, many of the policy priorities articulated during the campaign intersect domestic and foreign affairs. Some of the planned and pre-announced quick fixes for the beginning of Trump 2.0 may open new Pandora’s boxes. Further, given the unpredictability and transactional inconsistencies seen in Trump 1.0—from building an anti-immigrant wall on the southern border to the Summits with Kim Jong Un—were infructuous and were quietly abandoned. It cast doubts about keeping the new promises. Lastly, the bitter polarisation and name-calling of Trump 1.0 is a legacy that may haunt Trump 2.0. All these tactical complexities and shifts presage a pattern making Trump 2.0 invariably joined at the hip with Trump 1.0.

Pardons To MAGA To Immigration, A Domestic Roller-Coaster

Opening overtures of Trump 2.0 are likely to be dominated by domestic agenda. It’s partly because his support base expects it and also because he has greater authority to do so. Firing inconvenient officials and presidential pardons, etc, are likely to be in the first flush. It may follow some measures at score-settling with “the enemies within” even as the bite may be less than the bark. He would find ways to flesh out his catchphrases such as “America First” and “Make America Great Again”. Stopping illegal immigration and deporting those who have already done so would be a priority, even as some of these measures may be legally questionable.

On the economic side, Trump 2.0 may prune welfare spending and have a smaller government to balance with the promised lowering of taxes. Other intended moves such as high tariffs on imports and “Drill, Baby, Drill” may have collateral consequences in terms of trade wars, higher inflation, further demonise the “big oil”, environmental damage and lower export revenues. Rewarding Elon Musk and other corporate friends may lead to allegations of crony capitalism. The US political system does grant the President a high degree of impunity and the political context at the Congress and Supreme Court may be salubrious. Nevertheless, Mr Trump comes with the baggage of having been impeached twice and has the dubious distinction of being the first US President found guilty of 34 felony counts. His penchant for leaving a positive legacy is likely to restrain him.

The World Has Changed—For Trump, Too

In the foreign policy domain, President Trump would discover that the international context has turned far more complicated and nuanced. Despite bragging about his foreign policy accomplishments, Trump 1.0 was scarred by failed tactical initiatives, such as a deal with the Taliban, mollycoddling autocrats, reneging on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran, antagonising longstanding partners, undermining multilateral architecture, etc. No wonder most partners reacted cautiously to the Trump victory. Even the ruling British Labour Party, for instance, had to painfully ruminate over the serious pejoratives it used to describe Trump 1.0. The rightist fringes in Europe and Israel have warmly welcomed his re-ascendence. The countries demonised during Trump 1.0, such as China, and Iran, reacted with predictable defiance.

The reactions to his elections were a foretaste of the kind of difficulties Trump 2.0 is likely to face as his ambitious agenda. While the US remains the world’s primordial superpower, her hard and soft powers are significantly lower now, making unilateral pursuit of a wish list more difficult, particularly as he promises to avoid military engagements abroad. Trump 1.0 diplomacy was more about treating the symptoms than the disease. Living in denial was an often-exercised option on softer global issues such as climate change and disarmament. These tactical approaches merely kicked the can down the road, making the hotspots more numerous, more entrenched and intractable as evinced in the South China Sea, the Urals and the Middle East. Further, the cynical transactional approaches of Trump 1.0 lacked moral underpinnings, often reducing them to exercises in cynical manipulations and/or arm-twisting. More dangerously, it often allowed Trump’s interlocutors to pander to flattery or deception to get their goals.

‘A Man Deserves A Second Chance, But…’

The US under Trump 2.0 has two divergent options: isolationism and living in denial and inverted snobbery, or getting down from the moral horse and engaging either singly or through the same multilateral institutions that were often disfranchised during Trump 1.0. If Trump 2.0 intends to go beyond the palliatives deals and resolve the stubborn global crises, it would need to reinvent and realign itself with the new realities of the China-Russia nexus, more assertive middle-rung countries, including India, Brazil, Mexico, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, France, Germany, etc. Even traditional partners such as the UK, Japan, Australia, and Israel need to be courted afresh.

With his disregard for conventions, clipped deliveries, one-liners and over-the-top High Noons too often, Trump 1.0 styled itself more as an urbane cowboy than the conventional politician. We do not know if the invocation to resonate with the WASP psyche was accidental or deliberate. As he prepares to saunter to the White House yet again, it is worthwhile to quote John Wayne, the famous Hollywood Wild West icon: “A man deserves a second chance, but keep an eye on him.”

(Mahesh Sachdev is a former Indian Ambassador. He currently heads Eco-Diplomacy and Strategies, a Delhi-based consultancy)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

All of us can be forgiven for mistaking 2024 as the year of the longest-running live TV entertainment. Thankfully, one leg of it is over. As the votes get counted, the world can take a breather while regrouping and replenishing supplies for the second. The race to become the President of the United States has never been so absurd for the onlookers. Who or what, for example, was anyone rooting for?

According to a Pew Research Centre survey conducted in September, 69% of Americans admitted to following news about the presidential candidates for the 2024 election very (28%) or fairly (40%) closely. But what exactly were they getting or hoping to get? The survey report says, “Americans most often see news about actions on the presidential campaign trail, though they are most interested in their stances on issues”. A fair ask. Obviously unmet. 

Circus Of The Absurd

What the American voter has received so far is a concept of a plan from Trump and a promised continuum of Biden’s ‘problematic’ policies from Harris. Many Americans are sitting this election out, and who can blame them? A campaign trail inundated with descriptions of a golfer’s penis or how immigrants are eating other people’s animals, insinuations about a potential election steal on one side and an undressed stream-of-consciousness word salad on the other, has done little to convince the average American voter about the nobility and grandiosity of the White House. 

Both Trump and Harris have demonstrated an utter inability to learn from the past. While Trump got too bored of a decent, non-dramatic campaign just a few months into 2024 and unleashed his 2020 MAGA-man energy, Harris stubbornly refused to bring any course correction in her agenda on foreign policy issues despite her fellow Democrats’ public castigation. This election has been the most extensive testimony of what a lot of analysts within the US, as well as outside, have observed but have largely refrained from verbalising: both the Democrats and the Republicans fashion their electoral campaigns around the faults of the other side while doing absolutely nothing about their own. 

Kamala, The Saner One

Is it not ridiculous that the Harris campaign posited her only as the saner alternative to Trump? The fact that the Democrat incumbency became a burden and not a bolster for Harris should alert us that the new president’s arrival in the White House will probably be an extension of all the gaffes this campaign saw. And what about the process of candidate selection for both parties? Declaring Trump as their candidate for the third time, the Republican Party demonstrated an utter lack of imagination at a time when President Biden’s popularity was ebbing steadily. The Democrats changed their candidate from Biden to Harris with almost nil deliberations in their convention. The working-class voters, cold about Biden, have stayed cold towards her as well throughout the campaign.

But the US presidential elections are not about the American voters alone. What happens on Capitol Hill reverberates throughout the world. When Barack Obama won his first term, the symbolism of this victory was evident from young and old Indians celebrating at the India Gate in New Delhi. Presidents come and go, but their road to the Capitol paves ways across the world for ideologies, ideas, and geopolitical ramifications.

Nobody Knows Anything

From formulating trade controls to funding wars, what the POTUS decides goes a long way for the US and the rest of the world. Both Trump and Harris turned serious policy issues into farce during the campaign by sharpening the focus only on each other’s personalities. We still do not know what Trump’s plan is for the Middle East or the Russia-Ukraine war. Or China. Or Sudan or Bangladesh, for that matter. We only know that Harris is “committed to peace”, but her party’s ongoing actions have suggested otherwise. 

At this moment, it is an exercise in futility to assess what a Trump or a Harris win might mean for India or the larger Global South. There are no guiding principles to launch any such enquiry. Any scenario study will yield only fallacious conclusions because, simply, neither Trump nor Harris has stuck to either the party line or even their own stated beliefs. Trump’s transactionalism and Harris’s hubris are enough to defy any projections.

The US presidential election was once a lesson in how democracy asserts itself. In 2024, it has become something else. 

A glorified version of Hulk Hogan wrestling with his shirt.

(Nishtha Gautam is a Delhi-based author and academic.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

Millions of Americans headed to the polls on Tuesday, to vote for their new President, as well as choose candidates in ‘down-ballot’ races, including contests that will decide control of the U.S. Congress.

As the historic race for the White House between U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and her Republican opponent, former U.S. President Donald Trump, approached its final hours, the candidates, who are running neck and neck, focused their efforts on crucial battleground States, hoping to extract every single available vote on November 5.  Some 75 million Americans — just under half of all eligible voters — had cast their vote by Sunday in early voting.

U.S. Elections 2024 voting | Live updates

Ms. Harris wrapped up her campaign in Philadelphia where America’s ‘founding fathers’ signed the Declaration of Independence.

Mr. Trump closed out his campaign in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as he had done so in 2016 and 2020. The two candidates have had contrasting tones in their closing speeches over the last few days, with Ms. Harris striking a more optimistic note and stepping back from a direct focus on Mr. Trump, marking a shift from what she had done even days earlier.

Among the celebrities who joined Ms. Harris in Philadelphia were singer Lady Gaga and TV host Oprah Winfrey.

Abortion and reproductive rights of women have become a core ballot issue, with polling data showing women of all ages gravitating more towards Ms. Harris (and, for other reason, men towards Mr. Trump).

“For more than half of this country’s life, women didn’t have a voice. Yet we raised children. We held our families together. We supported men as they made the decisions. But tomorrow, women will be a part of making this decision,” Lady Gaga said.

‘New leadership’

“The momentum is on our side,” Ms. Harris said, adding that she was ready to offer “a new generation of leadership”.

“This could be one of the closest races in history,” she said, asking her supporters if they had made a voting plan.

“…You will decide the outcome of this election, Pennsylvania,” she said. Ms. Harris spent her day campaigning in Pennsylvania, where 19 Electoral College votes are up for grabs. At least 270 electoral votes are required to win the White House.

“We are optimistic and we are excited about what we can do together,” she said, adding that the country was ready to “finally turn the page on a decade of politics that has been driven by fear and division,” she said.

At a rally in Atlanta on Monday night, Mr. Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance, who has in many respects been following the Trump playbook during the campaign, said Ms. Harris was “trash”

“In two days, we are going to take out the trash in Washington, D.C., and the trash’s name is Kamala Harris,” he said. He appeared to suggest that Ms. Harris had called Mr. Trump’s supporters “garbage”. However, Ms. Harris has not done so. President Joe Biden said he had misspoken when he said Mr. Trump was surrounded by “garbage” after a comic opening at a Trump rally referred to Peurto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”

Mr. Vance confirmed that his wife had also voted for Mr. Trump (and himself). Usha Chilukuri Vance, Mr. Vance’s wife, is of Indian origin and was a registered Democrat a decade ago.

Mr. Trump concluded his campaign with a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The rally continued into the wee hours of Election Day (Tuesday).

Democrats are preparing for Mr. Trump not accepting the election results. The FBI has set a national command post to monitor election-related threats (not new or specific to this year).

At his final rally, the former President leaned into his usual messages about illegal migrants, the promise of a better economy under him and attacking Democrats. Mr. Trump promised to end inflation, including by increasing production of oil and gas domestically.

“Kamala has delivered soaring prices and true economic anguish at home, war and chaos abroad, and a nation-destroying invasion on our southern border,” he said, adding that some of the “greatest criminals” were entering the country. Mr. Trump said the border issue was bigger than any economic issues.

He asked, rhetorically, whom Chinese President Xi Jinping would call if he had a question on war, on Taiwan, or anything else.

“Who the hell does he call?… Maybe they’ll call me,” he said.

Mr. Trump called former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi “evil, sick, crazy”, stopping short of using a sexist insult to describe her.

During his term there were no wars, Mr. Trump said, adding that he had concluded the war against the Islamic State (IS), a fight he had inherited from the Obama administration.

Mr. Trump was joined on stage by some his family after the rally as well as Amer Ghalib, the Mayor of America’s only Muslim majority city, Hamtramck. Mr. Ghalib is one of two Michigan Muslim mayors who has endorsed the former President. The Biden administration’s support for Israel in its offensive in Gaza has created a challenge for Ms. Harris with Arab Americans, many of whom live in Michigan.

Mr. Ghalib spoke of his endorsement breaking a “wall of fear” and a “wall of isolation” between the Arab American community and Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump continued to cast doubt on the electoral process, calling again for elections to be completed in one day and for discontinuing the use of voting machines. In 2020, Mr. Trump had criticised early voting, associating it with fraud, but this year he urged supporters to vote early. Republicans are hoping that early voting will result in favourable outcomes for them.

Sanders bats for Harris

Independent Senator from Vermont, who was a former presidential hopeful and is a progressive voice in the U.S. Senate, Bernie Sanders, encouraged those who were unhappy with the Biden administration’s positions on Israel to stick by Ms. Harris.

“And for all of those people out there who believe in democracy, who believe in women’s rights, who believe that climate change is real and not a hoax, don’t sit it out,” Mr. Sanders told CNN on Monday night.

“You may disagree with Kamala Harris on this or that issue, but it’s absolutely imperative that we get out and vote,” he said. Mr. Sanders disagreed with Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris on Israel, adding, however, that Mr. Trump was far worse.

With Ms. Harris as President, there was a much higher chance of changing policy towards the Netanyahu government, said Mr. Sanders, who had campaigned for the Vice-President last week.

If Mr. Trump wins, “the global struggle against climate change is over”, Mr. Sanders said.

He warned that Mr. Trump would declare victory no matter what and say that if he loses it will be because of fraud.

Down-ballot races

While all eyes are on Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris, there are crucial down-ballot races being decided on Tuesday. Control of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives is on the ballot. Thirty-four seats in the Senate (where Democrats have a razor-thin 51:50 majority) are in play. Independent Senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin, who caucused with Democrats is not seeking re-election with Republicans standing a strong chance of winning his seat. Democrats are defending their seats in Ohio and Montana.

Democrats have a strong chance of taking the House (which the Republicans currently control), where all 435 seats are being contested. A split Congress could create policy deadlock, creating challenges for the next President.

Washington:

On the night before Election Day, at campaign events across the country, celebrities turned out in force for Kamala Harris’ presidential bid.
The battleground state of Pennsylvania was particularly starry: In Pittsburgh, the vice president’s rally featured Cedric the Entertainer, Katy Perry and Andra Day. In Philadelphia, the finale of Harris’ daylong dash across Pennsylvania, performers and presenters included DJ Cassidy, Fat Joe and Ricky Martin.

Republican Donald Trump was decidedly unimpressed with Harris’ celebrity lineup.

At his own rally in Pittsburgh, which overlapped with Harris’ event in the city, the former president criticized Harris for one celebrity endorsement in particular: Beyoncé. He spoke dismissively about Beyoncé’s appearance at a Harris rally with Harris in Houston last month, drawing boos for the megastar from his supporters.

“Beyoncé would come in. Everyone’s expecting a couple of songs. There were no songs. There was no happiness,” Trump said.

Beyoncé did not perform at the event but was joined onstage by her Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland, and gave a joyful, impassioned speech met with cheers.

Previously, Beyoncé allowed the Harris campaign to take on her 2016 track “Freedom,” a cut from her landmark 2016 album “Lemonade,” as its anthem.

Trump added that Harris should have learned a lesson from Hillary Clinton and had Beyoncé speak after her, saying, “That way the people stay.”

In 2016, Beyoncé performed at a campaign event for Democratic nominee Clinton in Cleveland in the days leading up to the election.

“They booed like hell, but the press didn’t play that,” Trump continued in his description of Beyoncé’s appearance at the Harris event.

He insisted his campaign doesn’t need celebrities to pack in a crowd, adding: “We don’t need a star because we have policy. We have great policy.”

At another point in the same rally, though, he enthused: “So many celebrities here, it’s incredible: Mike Pompeo, please stand up,” introducing his former secretary of state.

Trump also was joined by Megyn Kelly and baseball star Roberto Clemente’s son.

Harris lined up performers to speak and play at campaign rallies in all seven battleground states on Monday, and melded them all into one Democratic get-out-the-vote livestream.

In Las Vegas, performers included Christina Aguilera and electro-dance duo Sofi Tukker. In Raleigh, North Carolina, Sugarland, the country music duo of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, took the stage.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

The U.S. presidential election is going down to the wire, with polls showing a deadlocked race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. The swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina will play a crucial role in determining the outcome.
Trump’s favorability rating is stuck at 43 per cent, and he has never topped 50 per cent since leaving office. This means he has hit a ceiling in his support and may struggle to win the national popular vote.

There are 4 important issues when it comes to the deciding factor. The economy, immigration and border control, abortion issues and safeguarding democracy.

The country is in a bad mood, with 60-70 per cent of Americans believing the country is on the wrong track which means the election will change. Historically, when Americans feel the country is on the wrong track, the incumbent president tends to lose favor, giving their challenger a significant advantage in the election and Harris is facing this blow.

Trump is seen as the better candidate to manage the economy, leading by a 15-point margin in swing states, since during the Biden administration, the cost has risen between 10-40 per cent.

Trump has made immigration a central issue, and voters view him as the best candidate to manage the border. The first three years of Biden’s term saw immigration troubles, however the rates have fallen now.

Harris is seen as the champion of reproductive rights, and polling shows her leading Trump among women voters in swing states by 15 points or more. Abortion rights are decided at the state level and it is on the ballot in two key swing states – Nevada and Arizona which is a positive aspect for Harris.

Half the country sees Trump as a threat to American democracy, an authoritarian, while Harris has pledged to unite the country and even get the Republicans and Democrats working.

If Harris wins, it will be because she has successfully sealed the deal with voters and made the election a referendum on Trump. Her ground game, which includes a USD 1 billion machine to reach voters in swing states, will be crucial.

If Trump wins, it will mean voters trusted him to manage inflation, immigration, and crime. Unease about Harris, a Black and South Asian woman, as president may also play a role.

The outcome is far from certain, and the next 24 hours will be intense. Will Harris’ ground game deliver, or will Trump’s economic message resonate with voters? The country holds its breath as it waits for the results.