WASHINGTON – With just 18 days until Election Day, presidential candidates and their surrogates are arriving in battleground states that have begun early voting and meeting for interviews with targeted groups.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, will be in two swing states next week with two Democratic celebrities: former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.
Harris and Barack Obama will travel to Georgia on Thursday, where early voting has already begun. She will then campaign with Michelle Obama in Michigan as early voting begins on October 26th.
Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, appeared Friday on a popular sports podcast hosted by NFL commentator and host Rich Eisen, in which Walz – a former high school football coach – provided analysis of the upcoming Detroit Lions-Minnesota Vikings football game delivered Sunday.
Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, has his own deputy in tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Musk, the Tesla CEO and owner of Town hall on Thursday in the embattled state of Pennsylvania. Further town halls with Musk are planned in the coming days.
Musk, who is also an immigrant, complained about immigration during the town hall, saying he was “pro-immigrant, I just want to be sure that the people who come here are an asset to society.”
He has donated about $75 million to organizations supporting Trump’s reelection, according to recent campaign filings.
Al Smith Dinner
Trump attended the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner tardy Thursday, a posh event that raises millions for Catholic Charities in New York. Organizers are inviting the presidential candidates to a shared stage for a lithe, comedic roast before Election Day.
Harris did not appear at the charity event because he was campaigning in the critical battleground state of Wisconsin. but sent in a video. The Trump campaign criticized her for not participating.
“Kamala — who is not funny, despises Catholics and was too afraid of being roasted by President Trump — was the first presidential candidate to skip the event since 1984,” the campaign said in a statement. The National Catholic Reporter Reports The Harris campaign says it is committed to engaging with Catholic voters.
The only presidential candidate to intentionally skip the dinner was Democratic nominee Walter Mondale, and presidential candidates were not invited 1996 And 2004. The dinner took place in 1992 the same evening as the presidential debate between Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican George HW Bush.
Pope Francis has criticized both candidates. “Both are pro-life, be it the one who throws out migrants, be it the one who kills babies,” Francis said.
Harris campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa said in a statement that Trump’s performance at the dinner was “unstable.”
“He stumbled over his words and lashed out when the crowd wouldn’t laugh with him,” Moussa said. “In the rare moments when he went off script, he went on long, incomprehensible rambles, reminding Americans how unstable he has become.”
Trump in a affable environment
Trump largely circumscribed himself to media appearances with conservative media outlets and appeared on podcasts aimed at teenage men.
He continued walking “PBD Podcast” That aired on Thursday, where Trump again questioned Harris’ race with host Patrick Bet-David.
This isn’t the first time Trump has publicly commented on Harris’ race, as he has done did in Chicago during the National Association of Black Journalists in July. Harris is Black and Indian; Her father is Jamaican and her tardy mother was Indian.
“You have a woman who is black, even though you would say she’s Indian, but she’s black… a lot of people didn’t know,” Trump said on the podcast.
Trump has also withdrawn from several interviews with time-honored media outlets such as CBS’s “60 Minutes” and CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“Squawk Box” co-host Joe Kernen said Friday that Trump canceled a scheduled interview.
CNN offered to host a town hall with both candidates. Trump has not committed, but Harris will take part in the CNN town hall on Wednesday.
Trump rejects teachings on slavery
Trump appeared on “Fox & friendsEarlier Friday, he called Harris a “Marxist” and pushed back against Harris’ criticism that he was “unstable.”
“I am the most stable person,” Trump said.
On the show, viewers sent in questions. One asked how Trump would handle education policy. Trump said he would support school choice and abolish the U.S. Department of Education.
He added that he would withhold federal funding from public schools that teach about slavery in U.S. history.
“If they want to get cute, you don’t send them money,” Trump said, referring to public schools in states like California that are Democratic strongholds.
One of the moderators, Brian Kilmeade, asked Trump how he plans to reach women in the final days of the election, as Harris is outperforming him with that voting bloc.
Trump said he “gets along very well with women, and I think it’s all nonsense.”
Overall, 52% of eligible women voters support Harris, compared to 43% for Trump. according to the Pew Research Center.
“You have a problem, you have the problem of abortion,” Trump said. “Without abortion, women love me. They like me anyway.”
Trump has often taken credit for presiding over Roe v. Wade, who granted the constitutional right to abortion by appointing three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court.
What’s next?
Both campaigns have a busy weekend.
Harris will travel to Detroit, Michigan, and then to Atlanta, Georgia, for a campaign event on Saturday. In the Peach State, she will join R&B singer Usher at a campaign event where she will focus on the importance of early voting.
Walz will travel to Chicago on Saturday to attend a campaign reception. Walz will then travel to Omaha, Nebraska, for another campaign reception and later speak at a rally.
On Saturday evening, Trump will energize his base at a rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He will also hold a town hall meeting Sunday evening in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, is traveling to Waukesha, Wisconsin, for a campaign rally on Sunday.
