White House hopeful Kamala Harris and former US president Donald Trump are gearing up to compete in a high-stakes presidential debate, the first of the season.
Tuesday’s debate will also be the first-ever meeting between Harris and Trump – the Republican leader refused to attend Joe Biden's inauguration after falsely claiming that he was cheated in the 2020 election.
The 2024 election season has bore witness to rapid change, with the Democratic party switching nominees and several economic and political crises around the world ramping up the stakes.
Harris' entry into the race six weeks ago turbocharged enthusiasm among Democrats who were despondent about President Biden's chances against Trump – but both parties are bracing for a close election on November 5.
Pennsylvania, Georgia and a handful of other swing states are expected to be decisive, and polls show most of those races within the margin of error.
Harris, 51, travelled Thursday to the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania, where she will reportedly spend five days preparing for next week's presidential debate.
Trump, 78, has said he is preparing, as he did against Biden, through speaking engagements on the campaign trail and policy discussions with a tight circle of aides.
Earlier this week, Harris unveiled proposed tax breaks for small businesses as she fleshed out her economic policy.
In a rare break with Biden, she proposed a 28 percent tax rate on capital gains, lower than the 39.6 percent planned by the president, in her latest attempt to appeal to centrist voters.
Trump blasted the plans, saying in a statement that Harris's various proposals would lead to tax hikes "on almost 26 million small businesspeople.”
In lieu of the recent school shooting in Georgia that killed four citizens, security has increased on the trail, and both candidates spoke out about the shooting with similar statements of how devastating the shooting was.
Harris, as the United States’ first female, Black and Tamilian vice-president has swiftly erased Trump's poll lead and forced the ex-president and convicted felon to rethink his campaign.
Despite his unprecedented attempt to overturn the 2020 election – culminating in a mob of supporters storming the US Capitol – Trump retains passionate support on the right.
Harris holds the edge against Trump over likely voters in the "Rust Belt" states of Wisconsin and Michigan, by 50 percent to 44 percent, and 48 percent to 43 percent respectively. Trump meanwhile has the edge in Arizona by 49 percent to 44 percent.
Harris got a boost of sorts Wednesday from Republican quarters when former congresswoman Liz Cheney, an arch-conservative and never-Trumper, endorsed the Democrat for president.
"Because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump but I will be voting for Kamala Harris," Cheney told a gathering at Duke University, in videos posted to social media.
On Tuesday, millions of American voters will finally see Harris and Trump do battle in-person during their debate on primetime television.
– TIMES/AFP
Comments