(Phoenix) Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will face off in two campaign events in the western United States on Friday, with the Republican struggling to regain control amid the enthusiasm generated by his rival’s candidacy.
The Democrat and her running mate Tim Walz, appointed at the beginning of the week, have been embarking since Tuesday on a tour of key states capable of swinging the November presidential election.
After Pennsylvania on the American east coast, then two states in the Great Lakes region in the north of the country – Wisconsin and Michigan – the duo is in Arizona before moving on to neighboring Nevada.
The rally on Friday is to be held in Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, a state bordering Mexico that Joe Biden narrowly won in 2020, by just about 10,000 votes over Donald Trump.
The issue of immigration, on which the vice president’s record is fiercely attacked by Republicans, is very important to voters.
But since Joe Biden’s shock withdrawal from the race for the White House, Democrats have regained hope of winning these two Sun Belt states, which were reclassified this week from “leaning Republican” to “uncertain” by the independent site Cook Political Report.
Trump stung
The crowds gathered this week by the new Democratic ticket — more than 10,000 people for each event — did not fail to sting Donald Trump.
PHOTO CHARLES REX ARBOGAST, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz at a rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on August 7
At a press conference on Thursday, the former president vehemently contested the “enthusiasm” provoked by the entry into the race of Kamala Harris, whose campaign began less than three weeks ago.
The 78-year-old businessman will return to the campaign trail on Friday in Montana, a state already won over to the Republican cause.
This will be his first rally this week, and no other has been announced for the next one. The reduced schedule has raised questions about his campaign strategy now that he is facing a dynamic candidate 20 years his junior.
Despite the change in Democratic candidate, Donald Trump said on Thursday that he had not “reviewed” his strategy.
Kamala Harris has nevertheless managed to close the gap that had opened up between the Republican and Joe Biden, while at the same time boosting fundraising for the Democratic campaign.
Biden in retreat
The 81-year-old president, forced to give up a second term because of concerns about his fitness, is keeping a low profile, probably ensuring that the spotlight remains on his vice president.
She appeared at his side last week during the return of American journalist Evan Gershkovich and other detainees released as part of a large prisoner exchange with Russia.
The president and his number two will make their first joint campaign trip next Thursday since the announcement of his withdrawal, to the state of Maryland, near Washington.
The duo will discuss “progress” made “to reduce costs for the American people,” according to the White House, while inflation remains a weak point for Democrats.
With six months to go before he retires after a nearly 50-year political career, Mr. Biden appears keen to highlight his record. But he also wants to do everything he can to ensure his vice president wins in November.
According to the media outlet Politico, Kamala Harris particularly wants Joe Biden’s support in key states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan where he is still popular, particularly with older white voters.
The next big step for the candidate: the Democratic Party’s major convention, from August 19 to 22 in Chicago, where she will have to try to maintain the good momentum she is enjoying over time.
Then at least one televised debate is scheduled against Donald Trump, on September 10 on ABC. The Republican billionaire, anxious to regain the upper hand, has proposed two others, which have not been confirmed at this stage.