Trump holds court at Madison Sq Gdn, Harris in Philly
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will headline a rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden, a high-profile event in a state that last backed a Republican president in 1984.
Opponent Vice President Kamala Harris is traversing Philadelphia, the largest city and a Democratic stronghold in must-win Pennsylvania, and plans stops in a black barbershop and a Puerto Rican restaurant to encourage people to vote.
Speaking at the Church of Christian Compassion Sunday morning, Harris didn’t mention Trump by name. “In this moment we do face a real question: what kind of country do we want to live in?” she said.
Trump’s rally in Manhattan, like Harris’ event in Houston on Friday with Beyonce, hopes to lean on star power to support local congressional candidates ahead of the November 5 election.
US billionaire Elon Musk, who is supporting Trump’s reelection bid with his X social media platform, enormous wealth and cash giveaways that have raised legal questions will be among the featured speakers, the Trump campaign announced.
Trump, a New York celebrity for decades, will use the event at the iconic venue known for Knicks games and Billy Joel concerts to deliver his closing argument against Harris.
“We want to close it out with a beautiful bang,” he said last week.
Polls show the rival candidates are neck and neck in the battleground states that will decide the election with just over a week until Election Day. More than 38 million votes have already been cast.
Trump has been seeking to tie Harris to the Biden administration’s handling of immigration and the economy. Last week, Trump debuted a new attack line: “She broke it, and I promise you I will fix it.”
The US economy has outperformed the rest of the developed world since the COVID crisis, and stock markets hit record highs this year. But high prices of food, utilities and housing have roiled voters, who believe the economy is headed in the wrong direction.
Harris, who held a rally with Bruce Springsteen on Thursday, will hold another high-profile event with a speech on Tuesday on the National Mall in Washington, where she will highlight contrasts between herself and Trump.
Trump, who held a rally in Long Island, New York, in September, has said he is making a play for the state. Ronald Reagan’s reelection was the last time New York backed a Republican for president; Democrat Joe Biden won the state in 2020 by 23 percentage points.
By staging the attention-grabbing event in the world’s biggest media market, Trump could help boost Republican candidates in New York congressional races. The state has seven competitive seats that could help determine whether the party holds onto the US House of Representatives next year.
It could also give Trump a boost in nearby northeastern Pennsylvania, a battleground state that has increasingly become home for New York commuters.
Trump’s campaign said the event at the 19,500-seat arena, which can cost upwards of $US1 million ($A1.5 million) to rent, was sold out. Tickets are free and on a first-come-first-served basis, as was the case with Harris’ Houston rally.
A crowd of some 30,000 people attended Harris’ rally with superstar singer Beyonce on Friday night in Houston, and about 20,000 attended the Atlanta rally.
After Sunday’s neighbourhood Philadelphia stops, Harris plans to visit every battleground state in coming days, including a Madison, Wisconsin, rally and concert with folk rock band Mumford & Sons and a Las Vegas event with Mexican pop band Mana.
Trump’s 2016 presidential opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, has accused him of “re-enacting” a pro-Nazi rally that was held at the Garden in 1939 on the eve of World War Two. Trump’s critics have long accused him of empowering white supremacists through his dehumanising and racist rhetoric.
Her comments drew a rebuke from Trump and Republican leaders.
“She said it’s just like the 1930s. No, it’s not,” Trump said at a rally in Michigan on Friday.
“This is called Make America Great Again, that’s all this is.”
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