World Courant
It has been one other whirlwind week in American politics. And with simply over two weeks to go within the presidential race, the candidates are making ready to make their closing enchantment to voters.
What have Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates respectively – performed as the ultimate countdown approaches?
Discover out in our newest overview of an important political information of the week.
The elections at a look
There are 17 days left till the November 5 presidential race.
What is the newest from the polls?
The nationwide averages have remained largely regular since final week, with Harris sustaining a razor-thin lead — properly throughout the margin of error.
For instance, the ballot aggregator FiveThirtyEight has Harris at 48.3 % as of October 17. Trump, in the meantime, trailed shut behind with 46.3 %.
Nevertheless, some polls of particular person swing states present that Trump has been creeping greater. For instance, a ballot this week from CBS Information and YouGov centered on Arizona, the place analysts famous a three-point lead for Trump over Harris.
An NPR evaluation additionally discovered that the tide was handing over Trump’s favor in battleground states, although the information outlet underscored how shut the race is. It additionally highlighted that polls hardly ever inform the entire story – and that surprises are undoubtedly looming on the horizon.
Vice President Kamala Harris high-fives individuals within the crowd after talking at a marketing campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 19 (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Picture)
Harris marketing campaign focuses on Trump’s age
Sunday is Harris’s sixtieth birthday.
However even because the Democratic nominee prepares to rejoice coming into a brand new decade, her marketing campaign has centered on her Republican rival’s advancing age.
Trump is 78 years previous and he could be the oldest individual elected president if he’s profitable in November’s race.
Early within the race, it was frequent for Trump to criticize a fair older politician for his age and skills: the presumptive Democratic nominee, President Joe Biden.
Biden, 81, could be the headline of the Democratic ticket. However after a shaky efficiency within the presidential debate in June, considerations about his age reached a fever pitch, and Biden dropped out of the race.
Trump – who had lengthy labeled Biden “weak” and “sleepy” – now faces a considerably youthful opponent in Harris. And Harris has flipped the script and used Trump’s age in opposition to him.
“I’ve heard stories that his workforce at the very least says he is affected by exhaustion,” Harris mentioned Friday. “If he is exhausted on the marketing campaign path, is he certified to do the job?”
Her feedback adopted a sequence of canceled Trump occasions — and her personal constructive well being report, launched by the White Home final week.
Former President Donald Trump defended current feedback throughout a Fox Information city corridor with Harris Faulkner in Cumming, Georgia (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Picture)
Trump renews threats to political rivals
Trump has a protracted historical past of threatening to jail his political rivals. Even in 2016, throughout his first profitable presidential bid, he was identified for main the gang in chants about his rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton: “Lock her up! Lock her up!”
Simply final month, Trump vowed to prosecute these he considers a risk to this yr’s elections.
“IF I WIN, the individuals who CHEAT can be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the regulation, together with prolonged jail sentences,” he wrote on social media.
However the Republican chief turned his rhetoric up a notch final Sunday, throughout a Fox Information look with host Maria Bartiromo. In his interview he in contrast Democratic politicians to overseas opponents.
“Now we have two enemies: we now have the enemy from with out, after which we now have the enemy from inside. And the enemy inside, for my part, is extra harmful than China, Russia and all these international locations,” Trump mentioned.
“What’s more durable to take care of is the crazies we now have inside,” he continued, citing U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff for instance. “I name him the enemy from inside.”
Schiff led Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2020.
Later that week, Trump doubled down on his feedback at a Fox Information city corridor. ‘I do not threaten anybody. They’re those who threaten. They do bogus analysis.”
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks throughout a marketing campaign occasion in Atlanta on October 19 (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Picture)
An interview on Fox Information turns into testy
In an effort to torpedo criticism that she is avoiding press criticism, Harris has continued her media blitz this week with an eyebrow-raising selection: an interview with the conservative-leaning Fox Information.
The selection partly mirrored a broader marketing campaign technique to enchantment to mid-level voters in addition to Republicans disillusioned with Trump.
However from the opening moments, Thursday’s interview with Fox Information host Bret Baier was tense.
The journalist and the Democratic candidate struggled to be heard about one another.
“Can I please end my response?” Harris requested Baier at one level. ‘You need to let me end. Please. I’m within the means of responding to the purpose you increase, and I wish to conclude.”
Baier additionally questioned Harris on the subject of immigration, a problem that has drawn bipartisan criticism from President Joe Biden’s administration.
“Bret, let’s get to the purpose,” Harris responded at one level. “The purpose is, we now have a damaged immigration system that must be mounted.”
Usher waves to supporters as he seems at a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, for Kamala Harris on October 19 (Dustin Chambers/Reuters)
Democrats are strengthening star energy
Harris and Trump have spent a lot of October touring the seven swing states that may probably determine the presidential race.
However as she campaigned this previous week, Harris unveiled a star-studded lineup to assist her make her closing pitch to voters.
On Saturday, rapper and singer Lizzo opened for Harris in Detroit, Michigan, as she tried to rally assist for early voting.
And later that very same day, singer Usher took a break from his live performance tour in Atlanta, Georgia, to ship opening remarks at a rally there.
“We’re simply seventeen days away from a vital election, as everyone knows, and we now have the chance to elect a brand new era of leaders for our nation,” Usher informed the gang, uttering a standard chorus the Harris marketing campaign reiterated.
Republican operating mate JD Vance speaks to supporters on October 16 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania (Matt Rourke/AP Picture)
JD Vance Endorses Denial of the 2020 Election
All through the marketing campaign, Republican operating mate J.D. Vance has danced across the matter of the 2020 election: He has refused to contradict Trump’s false claims of widespread election fraud, however he has additionally prevented saying that Trump decisively misplaced the race .
That modified this previous week, when Vance led a rally in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Throughout Wednesday’s rally, Vance answered questions, and he responded strongly when pressed in regards to the message he was sending by refusing to offer a straight reply in regards to the 2020 race.
“Through the 2020 election, I’ve answered this query instantly one million instances: No. I feel there have been severe issues in 2020,” Vance mentioned.
“Did Donald Trump lose the election? No, not by the phrases I’d use.”
Election denial has been an ongoing drawback because the 2020 election, when Biden received Trump.
Trump had refused to just accept the outcomes, calling the election “rigged” and “stolen.” His phrases helped inspire a gaggle of supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol in an obvious try to cease the certification of the outcomes.
On this yr’s race, Trump hedged when requested whether or not he would settle for one other defeat. “If all is honest, I’m pleased to just accept the outcomes,” he mentioned in Might.
State of play: 5 insights 17 days after the American elections | Information in regards to the 2024 US elections
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