Harris and Trump in verbal escalation for key states

(Milwaukee) Donald Trump drew the wrath of his rival Kamala Harris on Friday for threatening one of his supporters, a new verbal escalation in the most aggressive American presidential campaign in the country’s recent history.

The former Republican president and the Democratic vice-president are battling over undecided voters in key states in the industrial north, Wisconsin and Michigan, in a close race with a completely unpredictable outcome.

While more than 68 million Americans have already submitted their ballots early, one controversy is chasing the other in a climate of extreme tension, as November 5 approaches, and with fears of violence after the election.

Mr. Trump, with his increasingly authoritarian rhetoric, ignited a new controversy: he suggested that the daughter of former Republican Vice-President Dick Cheney (2001-2009), Liz Cheney – she and her father support Kamala Harris – to be placed in front of a firing squad, “facing nine guns shooting at her.”

Donald Trump avait qualifié jeudi soir cette ancienne parlementaire républicaine de « va-t-en-guerre radicale » et, en réunion vendredi dans le Michigan, il a jugé que cette femme qui l’accuse de vouloir être un « tyran » n’avait « pas les tripes pour se battre ».

Kamala Harris a aussitôt jugé que cette violence verbale de son rival le « disqualifiait » pour retourner à la Maison-Blanche.

Sans relâche

Cet État donnant sur le lac Michigan a basculé pour Donald Trump en 2016, puis pour Joe Biden en 2020, avec moins d’un point de pourcentage à chaque fois.  

La vice-présidente de 60 ans et l’ancien président de 78 ans sillonnent sans relâche les sept États clés.

Dans ces « swing states », des dizaines de milliers d’électeurs détiennent les clés d’une élection hors du commun marquée par l’irruption en juillet de M^me Harris, après le retrait du président Joe Biden âgé de 81 ans, et par deux tentatives d’assassinat contre Donald Trump.

Afin de séduire l’électorat ouvrier noir américain du Michigan, M. Trump a affirmé sans preuve devant des ouvriers de l’automobile en réunion à Warren que « les emplois des Afro-Américains étaient à leur plus bas niveau [et] that they were all going to migrants.”

He had stopped before in Dearborn, birthplace of the automobile giant Ford and the largest municipality with a majority of Arab origin.

Objective: court this Arab-Muslim electorate, part of which is turning away from Democrats because of the Biden-Harris administration’s support for the war waged by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon.

Donald Trump “understands now more than ever […] our value in winning crucial states like Michigan, Arizona or Pennsylvania,” Bishara Bahbah, president of the Association of Arab-Americans for Trump, told AFP.

A role for Kennedy

The former president, accompanied by the former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, took the opportunity to announce that this heir to the most famous American political dynasty would occupy an “important role” in the field of Health. he won the election.

RFK Jr, nephew of John F. Kennedy, is a vaccine skeptic known for spreading conspiracy theories.

M^me Harris, for her part, continues meetings in Wisconsin and must receive the support of the famous rapper Cardi B on Friday evening in Milwaukee, after having obtained that of Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Lopez and even basketball superstar LeBron James.

The Democrat is also seeking to seduce the increasingly large Latin American electorate who is increasingly attracted to Mr. Trump. M^me Harris must also convince more young black men who may be tempted by the billionaire New York businessman.

This state of Wisconsin, overlooking Lake Michigan, swung for Donald Trump in 2016, then for Joe Biden in 2020, with less than a percentage point each time.

While Tuesday’s election could be even closer, with a delay of several hours or even days before a national result, the Republican’s entourage began to fuel the idea that irregularities were being committed in the voting operations.

“If we manage to keep cheating at a low level, we will achieve a huge victory,” Donald Trump said Thursday evening.

And authorities in Georgia, a key southern state, warned Friday of a fake video showing a Haitian immigrant claiming to have been able to vote multiple times. This 20-second viral clip allegedly emanates from a Russian disinformation campaign, according to federal police and United States intelligence services.