Vice President Harris made three campaign stops Friday in “blue wall” states critical to victory on Election Day and places where polls show the race to be razor-thin, leading to a strong lead in Michigan. They're trolling.
“We have 18 days left in one of the most important elections of our lifetimes,” Harris told a crowd in Grand Rapids Friday afternoon during a planned visit to Lansing and Oakland counties.
The swing in Michigan, which boasts 15 electoral votes, shows former President Trump holding a 0.7 point lead in the Great Lakes state, according to a poll compiled by Decision Desk Headquarters and The Hill. Early voting begins next Saturday in Michigan, and Harris told her audience on Friday that “the election is here now.”
Meanwhile, President Trump held a rally in Detroit on Friday to campaign after slamming the Motor City as a “chaos” last week.
Harris of Grand Rapids attacked Trump; About Politico's coverage On the adviser who described Republican candidates as “exhausted and in denial.” [some] Interviews” will take place in the final stages of the campaign.
“He's avoiding debates and canceling interviews,” Harris said. “His own campaign team recently said fatigue was to blame. Well, when you're exhausted from campaigning, there are real questions about whether you're the right person for the world's toughest job. ”
Opposing candidates have repeatedly questioned each other's suitability in the close race for the White House. This follows growing questions about President Biden's age and cognitive ability that had dogged his campaign even before his historic withdrawal from the race.
Harris also sounded the alarm about Trump's stance on Project 2025 and abortion, as Trump seeks to rally support among blue-collar unionized voters in key states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania. was harshly criticized as “not on the side of workers.''
The vice president later spoke at the United Auto Workers Union in Lansing, denouncing the former president as “an existential threat to the American labor movement.”
During her speech, she played a clip of President Trump disparaging union members.
“Listen to his words,” Harris told the crowd. “He thinks the value of your work is essentially meaningless, comparing it to your child's work. I know there is.”
He has received support from major labor groups such as the United Auto Workers and the AFL-CIO, but the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has not endorsed Biden this term after endorsing him four years ago. is attracting attention.
The vice president avoided talk of international politics while courting Michiganders in Grand Rapids and Lansing, but opened his final rally Friday in Oakland County with brief remarks about the war in Gaza.
“Our Arab American community has deep and proud roots in metro Detroit,” she said, touting support from local Arab American leaders. “We know this has been a very difficult year, given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza, the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon. It's devastating.”
She referred to the recent killing of Hamas leader and architect of the October 7, 2023 attack, Yahya Sinwar, saying his death “could be a turning point” in the conflict. , we must do so again,'' repeating her initial reaction to the development. Thursday while campaigning in Wisconsin.
“Everyone must seize this opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza, bring the hostages home, and end the suffering once and for all,” Harris said.
Michigan was seen as a springboard for protests against Biden in the primary election earlier this year over his administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
Harris also completed blitzes this week in other similarly close blue wall battlegrounds, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The vice president leads Trump by 0.3 points in Pennsylvania, and Trump leads by 0.5 points in Wisconsin.
Even as Ms. Harris tries to forge a path through other battleground states such as Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina, it is difficult for both candidates to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win the Oval Office this fall. These states are seen as essential.
Nationally, Ms. Harris leads Mr. Trump by 2.2 percentage points, according to the DDHQ average. The gap was even smaller in several polls conducted this week, with Harris leading by just one point.
Updated at 8:56 p.m. EDT
