The debate will be the first meeting between Harris and Trump.
Wisconsin, United States:
Donald Trump delivered a somber speech at a rally in the key swing state of Wisconsin on Saturday, while Democrat Kamala Harris hunkered down in another crucial battleground, Pennsylvania, to prepare for next week’s televised presidential debate.
Trump and Harris are now virtually tied in the polls, with the Republican once again shrugging off a mountain of scandals that would have sunk past candidates.
At the Mosinee, Wisconsin, rally, the former president delivered his trademark stream of insults, exaggerations and outright lies, painting a picture of an apocalyptic America run by a left-wing dictatorship — a “rogue regime.”
Under President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris, “your government has imported murderers, child predators and serial rapists from around the world, while using law enforcement as a weapon to imprison political opponents,” Trump told several thousand supporters at an airport in the heart of his overwhelmingly white and conservative base.
“With your vote in this election, their lies, their cheating, their stealing, their hoaxes and their conspiracies will end.”
He denounced the series of criminal cases he faces, ranging from trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden to dozens of felony fraud convictions in New York.
Harris, taking a break from days of debate preparation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, visited a spice store where she noted the contrast with Trump’s somber tone.
Asked what message she would like to convey in Tuesday’s debate, she said: “It’s time to turn the page on divisions. It’s time to bring our country together and chart a new path forward.”
Harris said she was “honored” by the recent endorsements of two prominent conservatives, former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney, adding: “It’s important to put country above party.”
Asked if she was ready to take on Trump, Harris simply replied: “Yes, I am.”
The crowd outside cheered as she left the store, and the Harris campaign released a video of the vice president hugging emotional supporters, including a young girl.
A police union for Trump
Trump got a boost Friday when the nation’s largest police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, endorsed him despite his historic status as a convicted felon.
He also won a legal victory earlier in the day when a New York judge delayed his sentencing for paying a porn star to hush money until after the November election.
Trump also stood before reporters to castigate women who have accused him of sexual misconduct.
Harris, a former California prosecutor, is leaning heavily on her message that she represents law and order in a contest against a convicted felon who tried to overturn her 2020 election defeat — another unprecedented development in a political season that has the country on edge.
Harris’ Policies
The vice president jumped into the 2024 race at the last minute after Biden abruptly withdrew on July 21, citing concerns about his stamina and mental acuity.
Despite an initial burst of enthusiasm from Democrats, Harris had to scramble to establish herself and define herself.
Tuesday’s debate offers her a great opportunity to present clear policy proposals – she has been criticized for lacking specifics – while sharpening her lines of attack against Trump.
The former president, perhaps seeking to build anticipation for the debate, said Saturday that the “corrupt system” would not recognize his victory if he won Tuesday.
“They will say, ‘Trump suffered a humiliating defeat,'” he said.
Pennsylvania, where Harris is preparing, is closely divided between Republican and Democratic voters, and could be the decisive piece of the puzzle in the state-by-state Electoral College battle that decides U.S. presidential elections.
The debate will be Harris’ first meeting with Trump. Harris refused to attend Biden’s inauguration — he reportedly met with her there — after falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen from her.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)