By james art 
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump embarked on a mission last weekend to collect all possible votes in the battleground states that will determine the next president.
On Saturday, Harris criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson for suggesting that Republicans could cut government subsidies for semiconductor manufacturing.
“My plan and intent is to continue to invest in American manufacturing,” the Democratic nominee told reporters in Milwaukee, adding that Trump has lost manufacturing jobs during his presidency.
Harris spoke before heading to campaign rallies in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina. Trump attended two rallies in North Carolina and one in Salem, Virginia, a non-battleground state, after his late-night rally in Milwaukee.
“We are on the cusp of the four greatest years in American history,” Trump said in remarks released by his campaign ahead of his first event in Gastonia, North Carolina.
President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the race this summer when it became clear he couldn’t win, was filling in for the Democrats, making one final 2024 campaign stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
As the race ended Tuesday, a reporter in Milwaukee referred to Harris as “Madam President,” prompting the vice president to guard for “three days.”
Johnson, R-La., later walked back his comments about cutting semiconductor subsidies, saying he meant only that Republicans would “streamline” the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act. But Harris said Johnson only issued the follow-up statement because “their agenda is not popular.”
The legislation poured billions of dollars into computer chip manufacturing in the United States, supporting union jobs in battleground states like Michigan.
Vice presidential nominees and big-name backers were also out.
Harris’ running mate, Tim Waltz, and actress Eva Longoria joined a get-out-the-vote event in Las Vegas before the Minnesota governor flew to Arizona for events in Flagstaff and Tucson. GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance was scheduled to be in Las Vegas and Scottsdale, Arizona, for events with Donald Trump Jr. First Lady Jill Biden campaigned in Georgia and Hillary Clinton appeared in Tampa, Florida to support Harris’ candidacy.
Trump and Harris’ planes parked close to each other overnight at the Milwaukee airport, and the candidates spent the night in hotels just three blocks apart. Even before Harris left Milwaukee, supporters were lined up for her rally in Atlanta.
Marzella and Darrell Pittman, who found out about the rally in Atlanta on Friday, canceled their weekend plans and drove four hours from Alabama to attend.
Marzella thinks Harris will win, but Darrell is nervous because many of the young black men in his life support Trump and are hesitant to vote for a woman president.
“It’s narrow, and on the other side, many of our people believe in this country, just like we believe in Kamala,” he said.
Until the election, “we’re thinking about nothing but voting and talking to everybody,” Marzella Pittman said.
There’s “so much on the line” and “there’s no way we’re going to let this slip away,” Darrell Pittman said.
Carol Hicks, who drives around with a stack of Harris signs in her back seat, said she’s optimistic because she has “die-hard fellow Republicans” who voted for Harris because they couldn’t bear to vote for Trump. Some people in her life are hesitant because they don’t want to vote for a woman, but she tells them “only weak men can’t stand a strong woman.
Trump supporters were just as passionate about their candidate.
Nick Chucker, 68, a retired police officer from Center Line, Mich., who attended a Friday night rally in nearby Warren, said he was cautiously optimistic about Trump’s chances, but said it depended on turnout.
“Just like sports, you have to keep going until the whistle blows,” he said.
Stephanie Tanzini, 77, wore a flamboyant denim baseball cap with an American flag at the same rally.
Tanzini said he plans to be “24/7” waiting for the results on election night — enjoying chips, dip and pie as the results roll in — with a bowl of marshmallows on hand to throw the celebration.
“Because Trump is going to win this in a landslide,” she said.
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Colvin reported from Gastonia, North Carolina. Associated Press writers Chris Megerian in Washington, Charlotte Cramon in Atlanta and Isabella Vollmert in Warren, Michigan contributed to this report.
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