As the clock ticks down to the pivotal US presidential election on November 5th, the two candidates are crisscrossing the country in a furious final push to energize supporters and sway undecided voters. But this weekend, their divergent approaches to campaigning – and to the very notion of American democracy – were on full display.
A Birthday Celebration of Compassion
For Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, Sunday marked not just another day on the grueling campaign trail, but a personal milestone – her 60th birthday. And in true Harris fashion, the vice president chose to spend it by connecting with the people who form the backbone of her historic candidacy.
At predominantly Black churches in Georgia, a crucial battleground state, Harris delivered a message steeped in empathy and inclusion. Drawing upon the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan, she called on Americans to see their struggling neighbors not as strangers, but as fellow humans deserving of compassion.
“When we come across our brothers and sisters in need, let us, as the Good Samaritan did, see in the face of a stranger a neighbor, and let us recognize that when we shine the light in moments of darkness, it will guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Kamala Harris
Flanked by Stevie Wonder at a “Souls to the Polls” rally, Harris framed the election as a fundamental choice about the country’s character. “What kind of country do we want to live in,” she asked, “a country of chaos, fear and hate, or a country of freedom, compassion and justice?”
The “Enemy Within” Rhetoric Ramps Up
Her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, offered a starkly different vision as he barnstormed Pennsylvania, another fiercely contested swing state. Doubling down on his incendiary depiction of Democrats as the “enemy within,” Trump singled out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative Adam Schiff for particular scorn.
“Radical left lunatics … the enemy from within … should be very easily handled, if necessary by the National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military,” Trump declared in a Fox News interview, prompting a swift rebuke from the Harris campaign.
“Even in his Fox News safe space, Donald Trump cannot help but show himself as the unhinged, angry, unstable man that he is – focused on his own petty grievances and tired playbook of division.”
Ammar Moussa, Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson
The Musk Factor
Adding to the spectacle was billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter) who has become one of Trump’s most prominent backers. At a raucous Pittsburgh town hall, Musk repeated false claims that the Constitution is “under attack” while announcing another million-dollar giveaway to a signer of his pro-Trump petition – an apparent ploy to boost GOP voter registration.
Democrats’ “Blue Wall” Pitch
With the race still a toss-up and early voting smashing records, Democratic governors from the critical “blue wall” states – Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan – took to the Sunday talk shows to make their closing arguments for Harris.
“I don’t want to go back to Donald Trump when he was in charge of the country. Remember the record? You had more chaos, you had fewer jobs, and you had a whole lot less freedom.”
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro
The governors touted Harris’s policy agenda and ground game while highlighting the turmoil of the Trump years. “While this is going to be close,” said Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, “I’d much rather be playing our hand than theirs.”
Going It Alone?
Notably absent from Harris’s side in the homestretch will be President Joe Biden, fueling speculation of friction after the 81-year-old was pressured to forgo a reelection bid. The White House insisted the decision was mutual, with one official stating: “The most important role he can play is doing his job as president.”
Rhetorical Whiplash
The GOP, meanwhile, struggled to defend Trump’s latest rhetorical bombshells, including vulgar insults lobbed at Harris and a bizarre digression on golf legend Arnold Palmer’s anatomy during a rally Saturday night.
Exasperated Republicans tried to change the subject Sunday, with Senator Lindsey Graham erupting when pressed about Trump’s comments on NBC. “When you talk about rhetoric, you gotta remember they tried to blow his head off,” Graham shouted, alluding to two recent assassination attempts by Trump supporters.
As this rollercoaster of a race hurtles toward its climax, one thing is certain: The next two weeks will test the mettle of both candidates – and the character of the nation they seek to lead. Will Americans embrace Harris’s appeal to their better angels? Or will Trump’s politics of grievance and division carry the day? The fate of the world’s oldest democracy may hang in the balance.
