Kamala Harris and Donald Trump
The United States is in the final hours of an incredible election campaign, with two prominent presidential candidates taking the stage: US Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Both candidates are holding their final campaign rallies on Monday, ahead of a vote that carries huge stakes not only for the US but for the entire world, AFP reports.
The 2024 presidential election is being contested by two completely opposite personalities, with almost a twelve-year age gap between them. Kamala Harris, 60, who succeeded President Joe Biden in July, could become the first woman to lead the world’s largest economic and military power.
On the other side of the ring stands 78-year-old Donald Trump, who has made an impressive political comeback after the chaos that accompanied his exit from the White House in 2021, surviving two impeachment proceedings and several trials.
This campaign was marked by numerous extraordinary events, including two attempts to assassinate Trump, against a backdrop of deep divisions in society.
Fighting for key states
Each candidate is confident of winning, but the competition is so fierce that only a few tens of thousands of votes could decide the outcome. The main battle is taking place in seven critical states, where both candidates have been campaigning non-stop in recent months, spending hundreds of millions of dollars.
The most important of these states is Pennsylvania, which provides the largest number of national electors. The US has an indirect voting system, in which the candidate who receives the support of a majority of 538 electors – at least 270 – is declared the winner.
On Monday, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are making their final efforts in Pennsylvania, which has become an emotional finale to the campaign. The vice president, former prosecutor and senator from California, who has roots in Jamaica and India, will visit Scranton, Joe Biden’s hometown, as well as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Stars in support of Harris
In this final phase of the campaign, she received endorsements from celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, as well as support from other stars including Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Lopez and NBA star LeBron James.
Donald Trump, after kicking off the campaign in Raleigh, North Carolina, is also scheduled to meet in Reading and Pittsburgh before ending his day in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He will present his vision of “a country overrun by millions of illegal immigrants, suffering economic and moral collapse under the influence of domestic enemies”.
Recently, the Republican’s rhetoric has become even more aggressive: he uses insulting terms against his rival, who in turn calls him a “fascist”, full of revenge and seeking “unlimited power”.
As of now, almost 80 million Americans, including Kamala Harris, have already voted early out of 244 million voters.
Both sides have already initiated dozens of lawsuits, as two out of three Americans fear violence after the 5 November election. As the country prepares for the possible consequences, the outcome of this election could set the course not only for the United States, but also for global politics in the coming years.
