Republican Donald Trump will hold a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday under the watchful eye of Kamala Harris, who will begin a bus tour of crucial states days before the Democratic National Convention, which will officially name her as his White House nominee.
While polls show a very close race, swing states, especially Pennsylvania, will decide the outcome according to the US Electoral College system.
The rally by Republican candidate Donald Trump on Saturday in the small town of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, will provide an opportunity to divert attention from Kamala Harris, the vice president who has had a strong start in the election race since President Joe Biden's surprise withdrawal on July 21.
Trump will focus on what he sees as America's decline and hold the Biden administration responsible. "Working Americans are suffering because of the dangerous liberal policies of the Harris-Biden administration," his campaign statement ahead of the rally said.
"Prices are painfully high, the cost of living has skyrocketed, crime has skyrocketed, and illegal immigrants are flooding into our country," the statement added, noting that recent tightening of border controls with Mexico has largely halted the flow of illegal workers and asylum seekers.
The Trump campaign also stressed that "in Kamala Harris's America, crime is rampant," even though statistics show violent crime has fallen sharply.
Trump will also take the same message to York, Pennsylvania, next Monday.
BUS TOUR
Harris will be closely following Trump over the weekend before heading to the Democratic convention. The convention, which begins Monday in Chicago, will feature three days of speeches by party leaders, including Biden and former President Barack Obama, before Harris delivers her acceptance speech on Thursday.
But Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate, will begin a bus tour of western Pennsylvania on Sunday.
The trip will kick off in Democratic stronghold Pittsburgh before hitting “two critical battlegrounds” in Allegheny and Beaver counties, according to the Harris campaign.
The goal will be to build on Biden’s success in 2020, seeking to boost turnout in Democratic Allegheny “while also making inroads in historically conservative counties like Beaver.”
‘Strong Communism’
The Harris campaign has touted its presence on the ground, noting that it has 36 field offices in Pennsylvania while “the Trump campaign’s presence remains small or nonexistent.”
Also this weekend, volunteers and organizers will fan out across the country “to speak to the voters who will decide this election about Vice President Harris’ vision for moving the country forward by putting the middle class first, as opposed to Donald Trump’s dangerous and extremist agenda,” the campaign said.
As the Nov. 5 election approaches, Harris has sought to distance herself from unpopular Biden policies, defying Trump’s attempts to brand her as “communist.” Both sides have focused this week on voters' concerns about the economy.
Trump attacked Harris on Thursday, saying she has "strong communist leanings" and that this would "kill the American dream."
Harris: "Trump is fighting for millionaires..."
For her part, Harris participated in an event in North Carolina on Friday, another crucial state in the electoral college calculations, where she unveiled proposals to ease the burden of inflation after the Covid pandemic.
She noted that the US economy is booming, although she acknowledged that "many Americans are not yet feeling that progress in their daily lives."
She added, "Donald Trump is fighting for millionaires and big corporations. I will fight to return money to working Americans and the middle class."
While opinion polls show a very close race, swing states, especially Pennsylvania, will decide the outcome according to the US Electoral College system. Trump narrowly lost the state to Biden in 2020, but he has strong support in rural areas and small towns in the state.
Comments