Kamala Harris and Donald Trump resume to the US campaign trail Wednesday, with new polls indicating that the White House race remains on a knife-edge less than a week before their critical first debate.
Vice President Harris, who has reignited Democratic hopes with just over two months until the November 5 election, will present suggested tax incentives for small companies during a visit to New Hampshire as she develops her economic program.
Trump, meanwhile, appears in a pre-recorded town hall session on conservative Fox News in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, following a significant absence from the campaign trail over the US Labor Day weekend, which is generally regarded as the start of the final sprint.
The opponents are doing some last-minute campaigning ahead of the presidential debate on Tuesday, when millions of American voters will finally get to see them face off in person on primetime TV.
“She’s had her honeymoon period. People are learning who she is,” Trump told a local New Hampshire radio station on Wednesday ahead of Harris’s visit.
“We can’t go another four years with a dumb president.”
Harris has upended the contest since President Joe Biden abruptly resigned as the Democratic nominee after the 81-year-old’s dismal performance in a debate with Trump raised concerns about his age and mental capacity.
America’s first female, Black, and South Asian vice president has quickly eroded Trump’s poll lead, forcing the former president and convicted felon to reconsider his campaign.
Despite his unprecedented attempt to overturn the 2020 election results, which culminated in a mob of supporters storming the US Capitol, the 78-year-old Trump retains strong support on the right and believed he was on track to defeat Biden.
However, as the oldest presidential nominee in US history, Trump faces a whole new challenge from Harris, who, at 59, describes herself as a breath of fresh air.
According to a CNN poll released Wednesday, the race for the next president is still razor-thin in six critical battleground states.
Harris leads Trump among likely voters in the “Rust Belt” states of Wisconsin and Michigan by 50 percent to 44 percent, and 48 percent to 43 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, Trump leads in Arizona by 49 percent to 44 percent.
Tight race
However, the election is essentially tied in three other states, most notably Pennsylvania, which has the most votes in the US electoral college system.
Harris and Trump are tied at 47 percent in up-for-grabs Pennsylvania, while in Georgia and Nevada, 48 percent back Harris and 47 percent support Trump.
Biden won all six states in 2020, defeating Trump.
The findings came a day after a USA Today/Suffolk University poll showed Harris leading Trump by 48 percent to 43 percent, with double-digit improvements among key groups such as Hispanic and Black voters, as well as younger people.
Harris plans to offer a tenfold increase in tax credits and reduced red tape for small businesses during her campaign rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Harris has committed to tax companies and the wealthy instead, contrasting her proposal with Trump’s promise to slash taxes across the board, although she has been chastised for failing to outline her views more completely.
Meanwhile, Trump has accused Harris of mimicking a proposal that eliminates tip taxes for service workers.
He will participate in a town hall with Fox News personality and close ally Sean Hannity. It will be recorded and shown at 9:00 p.m. local time (0100 GMT Thursday).
The campaign will continue for the rest of the week, with Harris flying to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Thursday and staying in the state until the debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
She joined Biden in a joint engagement in Pittsburgh on Monday, and the outgoing president will rally support for her — as well as his own legacy — with events in Wisconsin and Michigan this Thursday and Friday.