Fri. Nov 22nd, 2024
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Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are blitzing through the “Blue Wall” states that are expected to determine the outcome of the US election, betting on high-profile events over the weekend to help drive voters to the polls on Nov. 5.

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(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are blitzing through the “Blue Wall” states that are expected to determine the outcome of the US election, betting on high-profile events over the weekend to help drive voters to the polls on Nov. 5.

Former first lady Michelle Obama, one of the most popular figures in Democratic politics, is scheduled to join the vice president for a rally in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Saturday night. Trump also visited the Wolverine State, holding a midday rally before heading to an event in Pennsylvania ahead of his Sunday appearance at Madison Square Garden in New York. Aides have billed that appearance as the launch of his closing argument.

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President Joe Biden rejoined the campaign trail on Saturday with a visit to Pittsburgh. Democrats are hoping the president can help shore up support for Harris in his birth state as Harris clings to a 1.7-percentage-point advantage in the critical battleground in the latest Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll.

Here’s the latest from the campaign trail:

Trump Talks Cars

Trump honed his final-stretch message in the Detroit suburb of Novi, claiming he’ll bring Michigan’s auto industry “roaring back” with the “intelligent use of tariffs, taxes and incentives” — and mocking Harris for deploying superstar Beyoncé at a Houston rally on Friday night without having her sing.

The former president touted pledges to keep out Chinese-made cars, cut energy costs and spur business with corporate tax cuts that favor companies that manufacture in the US. If he’s reelected, he said, “the entire world will be talking about the ‘Michigan miracle’ and the stunning rebirth of Detroit.”

Trump has floated a series of tax-cut ideas, including one to make interest on car loans deductible on US-built vehicles that he repeated in Novi. Asked whether Trump was serious when he suggested eliminating US income taxes, his adviser Jason Miller told reporters that it “would be potentially something in the future that could be an aspirational goal.” 

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Trump also made a pitch for Arab-American votes in a state where they’ve traditionally been a pillar of Democratic support. Ten days before Election Day and with swing-state polls showing the two candidates in a dead heat, he also offered a simpler message.

“Are you better than you were four years ago? I doubt it,” he said. “This is all you need to know: Kamala broke it, I will fix it.”

Biden Courts Labor

President Joe Biden returned to his native state of Pennsylvania to campaign for his vice president and shore up support among union members, kicking off a get-out-the-vote event in Pittsburgh by the Laborers’ International Union of North America. He said it’s in organized labor’s interest to defeat Trump, whom he called “a loser as a man.” 

While Biden has hit the trail in Pennsylvania several times, he hasn’t appeared with Harris since Sept. 2 when they campaigned together in Pittsburgh. 

Pennsylvania’s 19 Electoral College votes make it the biggest prize among likely swing states.  

—With assistance from Alicia Diaz.

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