Harris courts voters in church as Trump heads for McDonalds

Atlanta/Philadelphia — Democrat Kamala Harris kicked off her 60th birthday on Sunday with a church visit in Georgia as part of an effort to court early voters.

Her Republican rival Donald Trump, 78, is set to hold an event in battleground Pennsylvania and visit a local McDonald’s.

Harris and Trump, who are essentially tied in the race for president in the most competitive states, have sharpened their attacks in recent days, while drumming up support for early votes by mail or in person with just 16 days left until the November 5 election.

Vice-president Harris and former president Trump are focusing on Georgia, Pennsylvania and a handful of other states likely to decide the election, where both parties have strong support and electoral results have been close in past cycles.

Harris, who was raised in the teachings of the black church and sang in a church choir, attended a service and spoke at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, about 50km east of Atlanta. Invoking her childhood experiences in a black church, Harris drew a sharp contrast to the harsh and divisive rhetoric of the current political climate, though she did not mention Trump by name.

“At this point across our nation, what we do see are some trying to deepen division among us, spread hate, sow fear and cause chaos,” she said. “At this moment, our country is at a crossroads and where we go is up to us.”

On Sunday, Harris and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, were promoting a “Souls to the Polls” initiative aimed at using gospel performances, national and state faith leaders, elected officials and others to mobilise voters.

After her events, Harris will record an interview with civil rights leader Al Sharpton that will air on MSNBC. Walz attended a service in Saginaw, Michigan, while his wife, Gwen Walz, planned to visit a church in Las Vegas.

Harris will need strong results in the majority non-white cities of Detroit and Atlanta and their surrounding suburbs to repeat President Joe Biden’s 2020 wins in Michigan and Georgia.

Trump, after escalating personal attacks on Harris on Saturday, told Breitbart News he would work at a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania on Sunday “just for fun” to mock Harris. Trump adviser Jason Miller said Trump would be working in the French fries area of the restaurant. Trump will then hold a town hall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Harris says she worked at a McDonald’s when she was young but Trump says he does not believe her. 

In Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, Trump said Harris was further to the left than Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. “You have to tell Kamala Harris that you’ve had enough, that you just can’t take it anymore. We can’t stand you, you’re a sh*t vice-president.”

As the crowd applauded, Trump added: “Kamala, you’re fired, get the hell out of here, you're fired.”

Trump had billed his Latrobe event as the start of his final argument to voters but quickly went off script with a long story about hometown hero Arnold Palmer that included an off-colour comment about the late golf legend.

Biggest prize

The former president is seeking to take advantage of what he felt was an improved position for him in opinion polls that show a deadlocked race. Some voters have already sent mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, the biggest prize on Election Day among battleground states.

On Monday, Harris said she would campaign with Republican former representative Liz Cheney in the suburbs of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who is supporting Harris, acknowledged on NBC’s Meet the Press that the race in his state was tight.

“We understand that this election likely will come down to tens of thousands of votes, you’ve got to compete for every vote,” Shapiro said.

Meanwhile, billionaire Elon Musk promised on Saturday to give away $1m each day until November’s election to someone who signs his online petition supporting the US constitution.

He wasted no time, awarding a $1m cheque to an attendee of his event in Pennsylvania aimed at rallying supporters behind Trump. The winner was a man named John Dreher, according to event staff. 

Reuters