Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are heading to the western United States on Thursday, where the Republican candidate is expected to hammer home his aggressive message on immigration while his Democratic rival is counting on Jennifer Lopez, among other stars, to mobilize the electorate Hispanic.
Five days before the election, the former president and the vice-president are engaged in a chase through the seven pivotal states, or « swing states ».
The Democrat, who tries to distinguish herself from Joe Biden without completely denying him, finds herself entangled in a controversy initiated by the octogenarian president, who on Tuesday described the supporters of his Republican predecessor as” garbage “before recovering.
Kamala Harris assured to be “strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for”while Donald Trump told his supporters: “Kamala and Joe call you trash, I see you as the soul of America”.
The former reality TV presenter, with his very particular sense of spectacle, went so far as to campaign aboard a garbage truck on Wednesday.
Donald Trump has planned a meeting with radical right commentator Tucker Carlson in Arizona and a rally in neighboring Nevada on Thursday.
He will also go to New Mexico, a more surprising choice since this state seems to be won by Kamala Harris.
Schizophrenic America
The latter will, as it has already done on several occasions, mobilize celebrities: in this case « J. Lo »for a meeting in Las Vegas (Nevada), and the «Tigers of the North»a group very popular with the Mexican diaspora, for a gathering in Phoenix (Arizona).
In the West, and in particular in Arizona, a state bordering Mexico, Donald Trump should promise again to put an end to what he calls a « invasion » of migrants, having according to him transformed the United States into ” garbage can “.
The Republican candidate was defeated by a very narrow head by Joe Biden in the Grand Canyon State.
Kamala Harris did not call on Jennifer Lopez, born in New York to Puerto Rican parents, by chance.
During a recent Donald Trump rally in New York, a comedian likened the American territory of Puerto Rico to a “floating island of garbage.”
The remarks provoked strong indignation among the large Puerto Rican diaspora.
Less than a week before the election, the two candidates continue to accuse each other of dividing the country, politically schizophrenic according to the polls which fail to decide between them.
The closer the November 5 election approaches, the more concern rises around a possible protest, or even an outbreak of violence, if victory were to elude Donald Trump.
Illustrations of this tension are omnipresent: the electoral centers of the most contested counties, targets four years ago of strong tensions, have turned into fortresses, protected by wrought iron fences and metal detectors.
The former Republican president, who never acknowledged his defeat in 2020, has already started talking about ” cheating “ in Pennsylvania, one of the most coveted states in the northeast of the country.