Supporters attend former President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Macon, Georgia, on November 3, 2024.
Ilya Nouberge/AFP
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Ilya Nouberge/AFP
Americans have two days left to choose their new leader in a presidential election that is likely to be decided by tens of thousands of votes in a handful of battleground states.
Former President Donald Trump attacked Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia on Sunday, while Vice President Harris focused on black voters and young voters in Michigan.
“The next two days will test us,” Harris told the congregation at the Greater Immanuel Institutional Church of God in Detroit. “These times will demand everything we have.”
Harris ended the day with a speech in East Lansing, where she did not mention her opponent by name. It was the first rally since Harris became the Democratic nominee that she did not mention Trump’s name.
Her campaign projected confidence and optimism in its final stages. “Make no mistake about it, we’re going to win,” Harris said from East Lansing, home of Michigan State University.
In remarks in Pennsylvania, President Trump suggested he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after his loss in the 2020 presidential election, citing media gunfire during a new assassination attempt against him. I joked about it.
“Someone’s going to have to shoot down the fake news, but I don’t really care about that,” Trump said, as the audience burst into laughter.
Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Chan said in a statement after the speech that Trump’s comments had “nothing to do with media damage or anything else.”
Asked how her campaign would react if Trump prematurely declared victory on Tuesday night, as he did in 2020, Harris said there is no integrity in U.S. elections and the U.S. voting system. He emphasized that it is reliable.
“I would ask people, especially those who have not yet voted, not to be fooled by his tactics, including suggesting to people that their vote doesn’t matter if they vote, which means the integrity of our vote I think that includes the fact that gender is somehow implied to people’ because the system is intact, so they don’t vote,” Harris told reporters.
Video plays of supporters arriving to hear former President Donald Trump speak at a campaign rally at the Kinston Jet Center in Kinston, North Carolina, on November 3, 2024.
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Julia Demarie Nikinson/AP
President Trump repeats false claims that election was stolen
Trump began campaigning in Pennsylvania on Sunday. Pennsylvania is a key battleground state with 19 electoral votes and is seen as a sure win for both the Trump and Harris campaigns.
During a speech at Lancaster Airport, Trump told supporters that the election was stolen, a false claim he also made in the lead-up to the 2020 election.
“We have a lot of crooked people. We’re fighting like sons of guns,” Trump said, pointing to reporters. “We’re fighting. They’re fighting hard to steal this damn thing. Look at what’s happening. Look at what’s happening every day in your state. They’re extending business hours. We’re talking about things like that.
The former president has offered no supporting evidence that the election was stolen, but tech billionaire Elon Musk endorsed Trump on the online platform X, formerly known as Twitter. questioned the voting machines, citing their use of ownership to spread false information that the election was fraudulent. election process.
Also, Saturday’s poll by widely respected Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer showed Trump with a 3-point lead over Harris in Iowa; He also dismissed Trump’s easy wins in 2016 and 2020.
“Polls are just as corrupt as some writers,” Trump said. “They can blow up the polls. They brag about it. I took the polls – I’m 10 points up in Iowa. One of my opponents won the polls. I just did it – I’m three points down.”
Trump also spoke about the failing U.S. economy and border, while personally attacking Harris, calling her “low IQ.”
“Kamala broke it. We’re going to fix it, and we’re going to fix it right away,” Trump said after arriving at the event more than an hour late. “America will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger than ever before.”
Vice President Harris greets customers at Cuzzo’s Chicken & Waffles restaurant in Detroit on November 3, 2024.
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Harris was focused on Michigan State on Sunday. Tomorrow it’s Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, after campaigning in North Carolina and making a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live in New York City, Harris was eyeing the “Blue Wall” state of Michigan. A series of events are scheduled for Monday in Pennsylvania.
She served a crowd at Cuzzo’s Chicken and Waffles, a restaurant owned by former Detroit Lions player Ron Bartel in Detroit’s Livernois neighborhood, and stopped by Erma’s Barber Shop in Pontiac, Michigan. There, he spoke with local leaders and black men.
Trump traveled to Kinston, North Carolina, for another rally Sunday afternoon and was scheduled to hold a third rally in Macon, Georgia, just two hours north of Kinston. The former president plans to campaign in the Tar Heel State every day until the election ends. Trump won North Carolina’s electoral college in 2016 and 2020, but polls show the race is increasingly close.
NPR’s Deepa Shivaram and Tamara Keith in Detroit contributed to this story.
