50949_WKBW_7_Problem_Solvers_658x90.png

Actions

Trump, Harris make closing arguments in final stretch ahead of Election Day

The two presidential candidates have events focused mostly in battleground states.
Election 2024
Posted

In the final full week before Election Day, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will be crisscrossing the country as they try to bolster support.

Harris will campaign in the swing state of Michigan on Monday and deliver a speech on the National Mall in Washington on Tuesday. The speech, near where Trump spoke hours before the Capitol riots in 2021, has been billed as Harris' closing argument to voters.

RELATED STORY | Harris rallies Philadelphia voters at church, barbershop, bookstore and more

Charles Franklin, director of polling at Marquette University, says it's clear the Harris campaign wants to remind independent voters and moderate Republicans about January 6, 2021.

"That's almost four years ago and the temperature of that issue has declined quite a bit," he said. "Looks like the Harris campaign is placing a bet on those cross-pressured voters who would otherwise vote for the economy to remind them of the risk he [Trump] poses to democracy."

Trump, meanwhile, remains focused on battleground states. He is set to appear in Atlanta on Monday and Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday. He has events in Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona also scheduled this week.

RELATED STORY | Early voting is still popular among Americans post-pandemic

Franklin said the question for Trump isn't where he speaks, it's whether he can stay on message.

"His rallies, we see a 'shotgun approach' with a variety of personal attacks," Franklin stated.

On television, Trump has focused much of his paid advertising on commercials attacking transgender issues, including gender-affirming care. Meanwhile, Harris is spending millions on ads related to reproductive rights.

Polls show an extremely tight race that could go either way.