How Trump and Harris spent their final days of the election campaign
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How have Kamala Harris and Donald Trump spent their final days of the US election campaign – and what does it say about their priorities?
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Read time: 4 mins
In brief...
- Kamala Harris spent the final days of the election campaign trying to secure votes in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, while Donald Trump has been in states he has little chance of winning.
- Trump has also used the final days of the campaign to spread more disinformation about his time in power, claiming that he should "never have left The White House".
- The News Agents say this election should have been a home run for the Republicans – but the one big hurdle to their victory is Trump himself.
What's the story?
The US election is upon us, and on Tuesday tens of millions of Americans will cast their vote on who they want to become the next US president.
And the presidential candidates – Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – are still hard at work trying to secure the final few votes from undecided voters across the country.
But how have Harris and Trump spent their remaining hours on the campaign trail? Where do they believe are the key states which need their attention – and where those all-important undecideds lie?
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What's Harris been up to?
Harris continues to pull out the big guns in the dying days of the election campaign, and will be joined by Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Oprah Winfrey at her final event on the eve of election day.
"Kamala Harris is spending all day today, criss crossing Pennsylvania with its 19 Electoral College votes," says Lewis Goodall, following the vice president closely.
"She'll start off in Scranton – which is, of course, Joe Biden's hometown – followed by Allentown, which is home to a very large Puerto Rican community.
"The Democrats are convinced with the polling that they've seen that that comment about Puerto Rico from the comic at the Madison Square Garden rally has been absolutely devastating to Donald Trump with a very large number of Puerto Ricans who live in Pennsylvania."
The comments – describing Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage", made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe – sparked a huge backlash among the Puerto Rican community in the US.
Joe Biden said the only "garbage" in the election race were Donald Trump supporters. He claimed he was referring to Hinchcliffe and other speakers at the Madison Square Garden rally, but Republicans took this as an insult to its voter base.
Trump dressed as a refuse collector for a photo opportunity, nearly killing himself while trying to open the door of a garbage truck.
“A lot of people heard the Puerto Rican comment and saw Trump wearing the garbage stuff, and didn't hear Joe Biden in between – and whether he meant to call Trump supporters garbage or not,” says Emily Maitlis.
“And so they just think that Trump has doubled down right with the comedian. They don't understand that Trump's costume was trying to take the piss out of Biden.”
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What’s Trump been up to?
While Harris has been focused on Pennsylvania, Trump's trajectory has been what The News Agents describes as "geographically batshit crazy".
"He's gone to places that he can't possibly win," says Emily.
“I think he likes crowds."
He has spent the closing days of the campaign in New Mexico and Virginia – both Democratic Party strongholds.
But that's not how Trump sees things.
"Trump has claimed that he won New Mexico twice, which he didn't do. He doubled down on election denial," says Lewis Goodall.
In every last-minute visit he's made, Trump has spread disinformation and used dangerous rhetoric to secure support with his hardcore MAGA fans.
"He said that he should never have left the White House. He's told women that he's going to protect them, whether they like it or not," Lewis continues.
"He suggested that maybe he wouldn't care if the press in front of him got shot.
"He didn't properly, really reject the allegation that Puerto Rico is garbage and on and on."
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What’s The News Agents take?
A Democrat source has told Jon Sopel the party believes Harris is doing well in Michigan, a key swing state, with Pennsylvania slightly behind that.
The source claims it is Milwaukee and Wisconsin that may prove problematic for the Vice President's campaign.
"The Democrats have to really pile on big numbers in the big cities if they feel that they're going to carry this," Jon adds.
But the Dems were always facing an uphill battle – from the poor approval ratings of Biden's presidency, to Harris entering the race so late in the game, the odds have been stacked in the favour of the Republicans.
"Kamala struggled sometimes to calibrate the message, but she's finishing well," says Lewis.
"By any stretch of the imagination, this should be a Republican year.
"The Biden administration is extremely unpopular. Its policies, rightly or wrongly, have been attributed to economic problems and inflation and on every measure, whether you think the country's going in the right direction."
The problem, he adds, is the man at the top – whose campaign has become increasingly erratic as time has progressed.
"The Republicans should be in a strong position,” Lewis adds.
“It is largely Donald Trump, really, who is making Democrats actually have a chance."
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