As the clock ticks down on a presidential race that remains too close to call, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are barnstorming the nation’s most fiercely contested battlegrounds, making their closing arguments to voters who will soon render a verdict with profound consequences for the country’s future.
Trump and Harris both targeted the crucial swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin on Friday, holding dueling rallies and painting starkly different visions of America. Their divergent styles and messages were on full display, offering voters a dramatic choice between Trump’s combative populism and Harris’s calls for healing and unity.
Trump Stokes Fear and Fury
At raucous rallies in Warren, Michigan, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Trump delivered signature stemwinders brimming with fierce attacks, bold promises, and provocative rhetoric. He depicted Harris as a “low-IQ individual” who would unleash economic ruin, while also stoking fears over immigration and crime.
“I will stop the criminal invasion of this country. We will have a deportation task force like you’ve never seen before.”
Donald Trump at a rally in Warren, Michigan
The former president conjured dystopian scenes of American cities “conquered” by immigrant “animals” and murderers, promising to institute the “largest deportation program in American history” if re-elected. He also repeated his aggressive attacks on Liz Cheney, saying the former congresswoman should face rifle fire to see how she likes her hawkish foreign policy views.
Trump’s incendiary language, while thrilling his loyal base, risks alienating moderate swing voters who could tip the balance in close states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. But his campaign is betting that unrelenting attacks on Harris and ominous warnings about the stakes will mobilize MAGA-aligned voters and keep the former president competitive.
Harris Strikes Different Tone
Meanwhile, at her own series of swing state events, Harris endeavored to strike a more uplifting and unifying tone, even as she sharpened her own critique of Trump. Appearing with celebrity surrogates like rapper Cardi B, Harris emphasized her desire to be a “president for all Americans.”
“Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. I’m here to bring people together, not divide them.”
Kamala Harris at a rally in Wisconsin
The vice president castigated Trump’s rhetoric and record on women’s rights. But she largely sought to focus on her own affirmative vision and policy agenda, from rebuilding infrastructure to tackling climate change.
Harris’s strategy of counter-programming Trump’s incendiary spectacle with a more conventional and aspirational message aimed at persuadable voters carries its own risks. Some Democrats worry she is bringing a knife to a gunfight and failing to sufficiently excite the party’s base. But Harris’s disciplined campaign sees an opening to poach enough disaffected Republicans and independents to eke out narrow victories.
Polls Show Dead Heat
The clashing approaches come as polls depict a historically tight race both nationally and in the decisive Electoral College battlegrounds. Though Harris maintains a slight popular vote lead, Trump polls marginally better in states like Pennsylvania and Arizona.
But some political scientists question whether the flurry of surveys showing a precise dead heat truly capture the state of the race. Given the polling misses of 2016, many experts suspect pollsters are “herding” results and weighting samples to avoid projecting a clear advantage for either candidate.
“This isn’t just an astonishingly tight race, but an improbably tight one. It feels like pollsters are playing it safe.”
Prof. Josh Clinton and John Lapinski of NBC News
Democrats Worry About Delays
Adding to the uncertainty, Democrats fret about potential delays in the vote reporting from cities like Detroit, where local officials say they need more time to process an unprecedented volume of mail ballots. Any lag in the count from Democratic strongholds could allow Trump to claim a premature victory on election night before the full results are tallied.
Such a scenario would echo Trump’s baseless fraud allegations in 2020 that culminated in the January 6th Capitol attack. Amid growing threats of intimidation and violence around the vote, Democrats and even some anti-MAGA Republicans warn of an emboldened far-right prepared to reject any outcome other than a Trump return to power.
“Let me be very clear: Donald Trump wants to be a dictator. He wants to use violence to get his way. We cannot let that happen in America.”
Congresswoman Liz Cheney
Sprinting to the Finish
Harris and her allies believe a strong turnout from women voters, galvanized by the the Supreme Court’s abortion ruling and Trump’s inflammatory sexism, could prove decisive, especially if the overall margins are razor-thin. The final frenzied push in the battlegrounds will test whether Harris’s bid to mobilize that coalition of the willing can outpace Trump’s efforts to supercharge his diehard supporters.
Whatever the outcome, there’s no question the 2024 race is climaxing as a dramatic clash of both personality and philosophy, one that could reverberate for elections to come. As Trump and Harris vie for the nation’s soul, the coming days may be the most consequential of any recent American political contest, with the very character of the Republic hanging in the balance.
