Harris and Trump Rally in Battleground States in Final Campaign Push

NTD Newsroom
By NTD Newsroom
November 4, 20242024 Elections
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The presidential campaign is coming down to a final push across a handful of states on the eve of Election Day.

Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris will spend all of Monday in Pennsylvania, with the state’s 19 electoral votes offering the largest prize among the battleground states expected to determine the Electoral College outcome. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, is planning four rallies in three states, beginning in Raleigh, North Carolina, and stopping twice in Pennsylvania with events in Reading and Pittsburgh.

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Harris Closes Campaign in Philadelphia, Trump in Michigan on Eve of Election

Trump and Harris both campaigned across Pennsylvania and other battleground states on Monday in the final day of what polls indicate is an exceptionally close presidential election.

Both candidates predicted victory as they converged on Pennsylvania on Monday to urge supporters who have not yet cast their ballots to show up on Election Day. The state offers the largest share of votes in the Electoral College of any of the seven battleground states expected to determine the outcome of the election.

Trump also campaigned in North Carolina and Michigan on the final full day of the campaign and was due to return to his home in Palm Beach, Florida, to vote and await the election results.

Harris scheduled five campaign stops in Pennsylvania, including two cities Trump had also visited, Reading and Pittsburgh.

She ended the day in Philadelphia with a star-studded event at the “Rocky steps” of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the site of a famous scene from the movie “Rocky.”

Despite enjoying the support of A-list celebrities including Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey, both of whom rallied the Philadelphia crowd before Harris took the stage, Harris called herself the underdog who, like Rocky, was ready to “climb to victory.”

“The momentum is on our side,” Harris told a crowd that chanted back, “We will win.”

“Tonight, then, we finish as we started: with optimism, with energy, with joy,” Harris said, predicting one of the closest elections in U.S. history.

In Allentown, Harris appealed to the city’s substantial Puerto Rican community in the wake of outrage at a joke made by a comedian at a Trump rally last week. She later knocked on doors in Reading and held a brief rally in Pittsburgh, where pop star Katy Perry played a set.

Trump led his fourth and final rally after midnight before a packed arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the third presidential election in a row that he has used the city for his last event.

He promoted his signature issues of increasing border security while criticizing the economic record of the Biden–Harris administration.

It was also likely the last campaign rally of his career, since he has said he does not plan to run for president again should he fail to attain the nation’s highest office in Tuesday’s election.

“This is the last one,” said Trump, estimating he had conducted 930 rallies since he began his first campaign in 2015.

“If we get out our people, it’s over, there’s nothing they can do about it…To make you feel a little guilty, we would only have you to blame,” added Trump, who received a boost earlier in the night with an endorsement from podcaster Joe Rogan.

Harris Arrives in Philadelphia

The final rally of Harris’s presidential campaign is being held outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a location made famous by Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky,” and will feature appearances by Oprah and Lady Gaga, among other celebrities.

Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, is also scheduled to speak.

The vice president was joined at her previous stop in Pittsburgh by her sister, Maya Harris, and brother-in-law, Tony West.

Muslim Leaders Help Open Trump Rally in Michigan

Among the speakers to open for a Trump rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, were two Muslim mayors of cities in Metro Detroit with large Arab-American populations.

Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib and Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi, both of whom are Democrats but have endorsed Trump, each called on Arab Americans to support Trump.

“My message to my fellow Arab and Muslim Americans: Your votes in this swing state will change the face of America and your votes will decide the future of America,” said Ghalib.

Trump is hoping to capitalize on the unrest in Metro Detroit, home to the nation’s largest Arab American community that has been upset with the Biden–Harris administration’s handling of the Israel–Hamas war.

Bazzi, who has faced pushback from some in his community, said that he would rather “lose my election than have a bunch of warmongers win the election.”

Differences Between Harris and Trump on Full Display in Penultimate Rallies

The differences between Harris and Trump have long been clear. But on Monday night in Pittsburgh, their dueling rallies drove home just how large the gulf between them truly is.

Only 9 miles separated the two in the key Pennsylvania city. Trump spoke at PPG Paints Arena, home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, in one of his standard arena rally setups. Harris spoke at Carrie Furnaces, a historic steel facility with an event that nodded to Pittsburgh’s place as the heart of the country’s steel industry.

Harris spoke for 10 minutes. Trump spoke for 950 percent more, clocking in an hour and 45 minutes.

Harris was introduced by comedian Cedric the Entertainer and seen off by a performance from artist Katy Perry. Trump brought conservative commentator Megyn Kelly on stage and touted the support of Roberto Clemente Jr., the son of the famed Pittsburgh Pirate outfielder.

Harris is closing her campaign by barely mentioning Trump directly. “This is it,” Harris said at her event. “Tomorrow is Election Day, and the momentum is on our side.”

Trump repeatedly invoked Harris—and her nearby rally.

“If you vote for Kamala, you will have four more years of misery, failure, and disaster, and our country may never recover,” Trump told his audience.

More Than 81 Million People Have Cast Ballots in 2024 Election

That’s about half the number who voted overall in 2020. More people voted early that year because of the pandemic. Still, several states have reported record levels of early voting because Trump has urged Republicans to vote early.

Early voting data only tells you who has cast ballots, not who they voted for. We’ll have to wait for Tuesday night to find that out. But in the meantime, you can pore over the early voting data in your state.

Trump Touts Endorsement From Son of Roberto Clemente

Trump touted the endorsement of Roberto Clemente Jr., the son of MLB Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, a prominent Puerto Rican who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Trump hopes Clemente Jr.’s backing can help him with Hispanic voters after a comic’s joke at his Madison Square Garden rally offended many Puerto Ricans.

“My father, the name Clemente, what it means is goodwill and unity,” Clemente said at Trump’s Pittsburgh rally. “I believe that your team is going to bring it all home.”

Trump called the endorsement “a great honor.” Clemente Jr. had his own brief MLB career.

Katy Perry Performs at Harris Rally

Katy Perry took to the stage after Harris spoke in Pittsburgh, singing a mashup of songs starting with her 2013 hit, “Dark Horse,” before singing a piece of 2010’s “Part of Me,” she shouted, “It’s my body, and my choice,” and “We’re almost there!”

In 2016, the singer was a major campaigner for Hillary Clinton. She both spoke at and performed at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia that year, and her song “Roar” was a staple of the Clinton campaign.

‘We’ve Got One Day Left to Get This Done,’ Harris Says in Pittsburgh

Harris urged her supporters not to be shy about asking people in their lives to get out and vote.

“Pittsburgh, listen, we’ve got one day left to get this done,” Harris said in the penultimate speech of her campaign. “So now we work to get out the vote. Let’s reach out in these next 24 hours to family and friends and classmates and neighbors and coworkers.”

Harris’s remarks were notably short in Pittsburgh. She spoke for under 10 minutes before singer Katy Perry took the stage to perform.

“I am asking for your vote,” Harris said, adding, “Your vote is your voice and your voice is your power.”

Harris now travels to Philadelphia for the final rally of her campaign.

Harris: ‘Momentum Is on Our Side’

Harris projected the confidence her campaign is feeling at the penultimate event of her presidential run, telling an audience on Monday night in Pittsburgh that “the momentum is on our side.”

“This is it,” Harris said with the Carrie Furnace behind her, a historic steel facility that nodded to Pittsburgh’s history as the heart of the country’s steel industry. “Tomorrow is Election Day, and the momentum is on our side.”

“We must finish strong,” Harris added. “Make no mistake, we will win.”

This is not Harris’s final stop of the night, however. She will head to Philadelphia for the final event of her campaign.

Megyn Kelly Delivers Fiery Speech in Support of Trump at His Closing Message Rally

Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly defended Trump at his rally.

“He got mocked by the left by saying he would be a protector of women,” Kelly said. “He will be a protector of women and it’s why I’m voting for him. He will close the border and he will keep the boys out of women’s sports where they don’t belong.”

Trump stood to the side and smiled as Kelly spoke.

Podcaster Joe Rogan Endorses Trump

Joe Rogan, the nation’s most-listened-to podcaster, announced on the eve of the election that he’s endorsing Trump.

Rogan, in a post on X promoting his interview with Trump supporter Elon Musk, made a compelling case for the Republican presidential nominee and said, “I agree with him every step of the way.”

“For the record, yes, that’s an endorsement of Trump,” he added.

Trump late last month sat for a three-hour interview with Rogan for his podcast.

Several of Trump’s Children Join Him on Stage in Pittsburgh

Trump invited several of his children on stage as he spoke nostalgically about the end of his campaign.

He told a story about his youngest son, Barron Trump, teaching him about technology.

“Do I have good kids?” Trump said to loud cheers. “Are my kids here? Where are my kids?”

He was joined on stage by Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and his wife Lara, along with Tiffany Trump and her husband. He said Barron was watching from home and that Ivanka Trump “loves the whole thing.”

Several of Trump’s children joined him on stage at another rally earlier on Monday in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Michigan GOP chair says he is ‘very confident’ Trump will win

Ahead of Trump’s final rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan—the same place he closed out his 2016 and 2020 campaigns—state party chair Pete Hoekstra said he feels “very confident” that Trump will carry the state and win another four years in the White House.

“I’m optimistic. Very bullish on Michigan,” Hoekstra told The Associated Press.

Republicans have also focused on election security in Michigan, but on Monday night, Hoekstra said that “so far” he felt good about the security of the election, but “you never know what you don’t know.”

“Overall, we’re feeling good. We’ve got a great effort in place,” said Hoekstra, adding that a “war room” was in place to take calls if there were any issues with voting tomorrow.

Harris Gets Out Her Own Vote in Pennsylvania

Harris went canvassing in Pennsylvania on the eve of Election Day, visiting two homes in Reading as she campaigned throughout the state.

Harris, and the considerable motorcade she travels in, pulled up to a home where three people were waiting for the Democratic nominee.

“Hi guys,” Harris said.

“Oh my God,” said the family, seeing the vice president on their porch.

“Sorry for the intrusion,” Harris added. The family said they planned to vote on Tuesday morning and that they had made up their minds, but they did not say who they were backing.

Harris, accompanied by two campaign volunteers, then walked a few doors down, where a woman told the vice president, “You already got my vote,” and gave her a hug. She told the vice president that her husband, who shook Harris’s hand as he emerged from the house, planned to vote on Tuesday.

“It’s the day before the election and I just wanted to come by and say I hope to earn your vote,” Harris told the woman.

The Democratic nominee could also be heard telling the women about needing to “find common ground,” a familiar line from her stump speeches.

Washington Steps Up Security Ahead of Election Day

Police in Washington are increasing patrols in downtown areas and near the White House around Election Day, though officials say there are no known credible threats to the nation’s capital.

D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith told reporters on Monday that the increased patrols are a “preventative measure.” Police will also be using a helicopter and drones to monitor areas downtown, she said. Police will be working out of a new command center to coordinate other agencies and respond to events from election week through the presidential inauguration in January.

Harris Leads by 34 Points Among Latino Voters in Pennsylvania: Poll

Vice President Kamala Harris is leading former President Donald Trump by 34 percent among Pennsylvania’s Latino voter population, according to a new poll from Univision and YouGov.

The poll surveyed 400 registered Latino voters in the state and found that 64 percent of them said they would vote for Harris, while 30 percent said they would vote for Trump.

The survey was conducted after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made a controversial joke at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Oct. 27, in which he likened Puerto Rico to a “floating island of garbage.” Trump had been making consistent inroads with the Keystone State’s Hispanic population and Harris has leaned into the remarks during her recent outreach in the state.

Roughly 69 percent of respondents in the survey said the joke was “more racist than humorous,” while 17 percent described it as merely a joke. Seventy-one percent of Puerto Ricans, specifically, said they felt the remarks were indicative of underlying racism in the Trump campaign, even if Hinchcliffe’s statement was intended as a joke.

Additionally, six in 10 respondents said they felt Trump is very or somewhat disrespectful toward Latinos, while 19 percent said he is “very respectful” to the Hispanic community. More than 50 percent of Latino voters said Hinchcliffe’s joke affected their support for the former president.

Pennsylvania has 1.15 million Latino residents, according to the U.S. Census, and nearly 600,000 are eligible to vote according to data from the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute. The poll was conducted between Oct. 29 and Nov. 3 and has a 5 percent margin of error.

Sen. Warner: China’s ‘Salt Typhoon’ Hack ‘Unprecedented in Size and Scope’

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told The Epoch Times on Monday morning that China’s “Salt Typhoon” hack—the hack that breached the phones of former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio)—is “unprecedented in its size and scope.”

“I think it will go down as maybe one of the most significant cyber attacks we’ve faced in our country,” said the senator, who chairs the Select Intelligence Committee.

“It did not have election interference as its goal. It has been, unfortunately, going on for some time,” Warner said. “I believe it begs the fact that we do not have any minimum cybersecurity within our telecom section.”

Alluding to his telecommunications business background, Warner added that “those minimum cyber standards and telecom will be a top legislative agenda.”

He also spoke of foreign interference in the U.S. election. He said these foreign forces have different preferences: Russia for Trump, Iran for Harris, and China for down-ballot races of candidates who are critical of the Chinese regime.

“Ultimately, they want to undermine our confidence in our electoral system,” Warner said of the United States’ foreign adversaries.

Trump: The Presidential Race Is ‘Ours to Lose’

Trump took the stage to roaring applause in Raleigh, North Carolina.

He sounded a little hoarse after a busy campaign schedule that is set to include another three stops later Monday.

Trump said of the presidential race: “It’s ours to lose.”

Trump sounded confident, telling his audience, “With North Carolina, I’ve always gotten there.”

“Here’s my only purpose in even being here today: Get out and vote,” Trump said.

After Raleigh, he’s expected to head to Pennsylvania, perhaps the biggest prize on the electoral map, for rallies in Reading and Pittsburgh.

Final Presidential Ads Focus on Unity

As the two presidential nominees make their final pitches to voters ahead of Tuesday’s election, a common theme has emerged in their camps’ final ads: unity.

In a two-minute ad released on Saturday, Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris promised to deliver a “brighter future” for all Americans.

“The vast majority of people in our country have so much more in common than what separates them,” Harris said in the ad. “Good people, hardworking people—we see in our fellow Americans: neighbors, not enemies…We’re not falling for these folks who are trying to divide us.”

Harris’s comments alluded to a remark often made by her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, who has vowed to defeat the nation’s “enemies from within.”

Trump defined those enemies as “the fascists, the Marxists, the communists, the people that we have that are actually running the country” at a rally in Wisconsin last month.

In a pro-Trump ad shared on Sunday on the X social media platform by Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s former running mate, who is now backing the former president, the overarching message was also one of unity.

The ad highlights Shanahan, Kennedy, their fellow ex-Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, and other notable names who have set aside their political differences to form a broad coalition of support behind Trump.

“This election really isn’t about the left versus the right,” Gabbard says in the ad. “It’s about We the People choosing our government and the choice between freedom versus tyranny.”

Over a montage of clips of Trump’s surrogates, rallies, and campaign events, he closes out the ad by saying: “The people dreamed this country, and it’s the people who are making America great again.”

NBC Airs Trump Message After Harris’s Saturday Night Live Appearance

NBC aired a message from former President Donald Trump one day after Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on Saturday Night Live (SNL).

Trump spoke for about one minute during the message, which was prerecorded and broadcast during a NASCAR race on Nov. 3. It was aired again during an NFL game.
Trump, after greeting fans of sports, pointed out that the presidential election was approaching rapidly.

“We’re two days away from the most important election in the history of our country. We’ve got to save our country, and it needs saving. It’s in very bad shape,” Trump said.

“We’re going to end up in a depression based on what’s been happening,” he added later.

“We have to straighten out our country, we have to close our borders, we have to lower our taxes, we have to get rid of inflation. I’ll fix it.”

Star Power to Fuel Harris’s Final Day of Campaigning

The vice president is holding a rally in Allentown with rapper Fat Joe before visiting a Puerto Rican restaurant in Reading with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.).

She’ll also hold an evening Pittsburgh rally featuring performances by DJ D-Nice, Katy Perry, and Andra Day, before rallying at Philadelphia’s Museum of the Arts’ “Rocky Steps,” a location that features a statue of the fictional boxer.

The final event includes remarks from DJ Cassidy, Fat Joe, Freeway, and Just Blaze, as well as Lady Gaga, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Ricky Martin, The Roots, Jazmine Sullivan, Adam Blackstone, and Oprah Winfrey.

Where Will Trump Be on the Eve of Election Day?

Former President Donald Trump is closing out his campaign for the White House with a jam-packed schedule that includes four rallies across three battleground states.

He’ll begin Monday in Raleigh, North Carolina, underscoring the significance of a state he has visited the past three days.

He then heads to Pennsylvania—perhaps the biggest prize on the electoral map—for rallies in Reading and Pittsburgh.

He will end his night—and likely spend the early hours of Election Day morning—in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That has become a campaign tradition for the former president, who also held last-day rallies there during his 2016 and 2020 campaigns.

Harris Targets Puerto Rican Communities in Pennsylvania Campaign

After a visit to Scranton, Harris will speak in Allentown—a majority Hispanic city that’s home to tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans.

Pennsylvania is a swing state that could decide the election.

Harris later heads to Reading, where she plans to visit a Puerto Rican restaurant with Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Epoch Times reporters Jacob Burg, Samantha Flom, Terri Wu, and Zachary Stieber, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.