Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are both heading west to Arizona and Nevada for some of their last campaign stops today – with just five days to go until the US election.
Thursday 31 October 2024 13:39, UK
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Voters across America have had their phones pinging with messages from Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’s campaigns as they try to win every vote possible in the last days of the race.
Texting is cheap and easy and has fewer rules than traditional paid broadcast advertising – meaning the nominees have been using it aggressively as the election nears a close.
Both sides offer alarming warnings about the potential impacts of their opponent getting into the White House.
They also suggest deadlines for people to donate money.
Former President Bill Clinton will head to Milwaukee in Wisconsin today to campaign for Kamala Harris.
He’s set to join leaders for a faith event, according to the Harris campaign.
Both Mr Clinton and former president Barack Obama have hit the trail for Ms Harris recently.
A court hearing will take place in Philadelphia today over the $1m prizes Elon Musk has been awarding registered voters in swing states.
The Tesla and X chief executive has been summoned to court over a civil case by the Pennsylvania city’s top prosecutor to stop him and his political action committee, America PAC, from giving the cash away to those who sign his online free speech and gun rights petition.
Judge Angelo Foglietta will hear motions on the issue in a city hall courtroom today.
Matthew Haverstick, one of several lawyers representing Mr Musk and America PAC, declined to say whether the Tesla boss would attend.
“It’s the economy, stupid.”
It was back in 1992 when political strategist James Carville coined a phrase that feels to me to be wholly apt again right now.
It was by focusing on the state of the economy that Carville helped Bill Clinton beat George HW Bush 22 years ago.
For headscratchers today wondering why a man so divisive and with so much baggage as Donald Trump could be within a whisker of the White House, it may be that the answer, again, is: “It’s the economy, stupid.”
In suburban North Carolina, it doesn’t take long to realise just how much people’s back pockets are pushing them to the polling booth.
Kannapolis is America’s suburbia. It’s middle class, leafy and the polls suggest it’s on a knife edge now, just as it was four years ago.
Back in 2020, Donald Trump won this town’s district by just nine votes. With small gains like this across the state, the former president won North Carolina by a whisker – 1.3%.
You need to go back to Obama in 2008 for the last time the Democrats won this state, then by 14,000 votes.
With its sizable 16 electoral college votes, a win here really helps propel either candidate to the 270 needed for victory nationally.
Stone spoke to a range of voters in Kannapolis, who told him what the biggest issues are for them in this election. Read the full story here:
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are both looking to win round Hispanic voters with trips today to Nevada – the smallest of the seven swing states expected to decide the US election next week.
Nearly a third of Nevada’s population is Hispanic and while the voters have historically been an area of strength for Democrats, Mr Trump has been gaining ground among the US Latino population.
Singer Jennifer Lopez will speak at Ms Harris’s rally in Las Vegas, while Mr Trump will also hold a rally to the southeast of the city in Henderson.
The Republican and Democratic nominees will also appear at events in Arizona, which has a large share of Latino voters.
It comes after Mr Trump’s rally in New York on Saturday sparked outrage when comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage”.
Joe Biden caused a stir with his response to the comedian’s remarks, as he appeared to refer to Mr Trump’s supporters as “garbage”.
Ms Harris, meanwhile, has tried to limit the damage, saying she “will be a president for all Americans”.
Joe Biden raised a few eyebrows after jokingly biting a baby on the leg while hosting families at the White House annual Halloween event.
Up to 8,000 people, including students and children tied to the military, were invited to the event yesterday.
At one point the president met a mother who had dressed her baby in a chicken costume – and bent down to give the baby a playful bite on the leg.
Social media had a mixed reaction, with some seeing it as amusing while others said it was “bizarre”.
Let’s take a look at where the key players will be before we bring you the latest in US politics.
Kamala Harris
The vice president will be heading west today, participating in rally concerts in the Arizon city of Phoenix and Las Vegas in Nevada.
She’s also set to speak in Reno, Nevada, later on.
Donald Trump
The Republican candidate will rally today in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Henderson, Nevada.
He’s also set to participate in a hurricane relief benefit with conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson in Glendale, Arizona.
JD Vance
The vice-presidential nominee will be in North Carolina today for a town hall event hosted by Turning Point PAC and Turning Point Action.
Tim Walz
Kamala Harris’s running mate is set to campaign in Pennsylvania to encourage more early voting.
He’s scheduled to make stops in Harrisburg, Erie and Detroit.
Hello and welcome back to our coverage of the US election.
Before we get back into our live updates, here’s a quick summary of what you may have missed yesterday:
Thanks for tuning in tonight.
Before we go, let’s round up what happened.
Trump dons high vis in jab at Biden
Donald Trump donned a high vis jacket at a rally and sat in the passenger seat of a rubbish truck in a jab at Joe Biden’s comments last night – in which he appeared to label some Trump supporters “garbage”.
You can watch the sitting president’s comments here…
“250 million Americans are not garbage,” Mr Trump opened his rally in Wisconsin with.
“My supporters are way higher quality than crooked Joe’s or lying Kamala Harris’s,” he added.
Harris calls on swing state to vote – and promises to prioritise cost of living
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris called on voters in Pennsylvania to get out and make their voices heard.
The state is one of seven that could decide next Tuesday’s election.
“We need you to vote Pennsylvania,” she said.
But with more confidence, she added: “Make no mistake, we will win.”
She later told a Wisconsin crowd that “on day one, Donald Trump would walk into that [Oval] office with an enemies list… when I am elected I will walk in with a to-do list”.
“And at the top of my list is bringing down your cost of living – that will be my focus every single day as president.”
Hollywood icon and astronaut throw weight behind candidates
Former actor, bodybuilder and – most notably – Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed Kamala Harris for president, while the second man ever to walk on the surface on the moon, Buzz Aldrin, threw his weight behind Donald Trump.
Musk summoned to court
Elon Musk was summoned to an emergency court hearing taking place tomorrow morning over the $1m prizes he has been awarding registered voters in swing states.
The Tesla and X chief executive has been ordered by a judge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to address a civil case by the city’s top prosecutor to stop Mr Musk and his political action committee, America PAC, from giving the cash away.
The suit accuses Mr Musk of operating an illegal lottery and trying to influence voters.
Mr Musk and his PAC are strong backers of Mr Trump.
Read more about that here.
Kamala Harris has wrapped up in Wisconsin now – so let’s get back to broader coverage.
A Democratic Senate candidate has hit out at the president over his “garbage” comments last night.
Ruben Gallego, who is running in Arizona, created some distance between himself and the White House today by saying: “No politician should be talking about anybody that way. Doesn’t matter who they are.”
His remark came a day after Mr Biden appeared to criticise Trump supporters, apparently referring to them as “garbage”.
Biden spokespeople have insisted his comments were in reference to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and not Trump supporters.
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