By james art Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump rallied his Make America Great Again (MAGA) base at an event in New York, pledging again to tackle immigration while criticizing Democratic rival Kamala Harris.
Trump repeatedly attacked migrants during his speech at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, vowing to make good on his campaign promise to carry out the largest deportation operation in United States history if elected.
“November 5 will be the most important date in the history of our country, and together we will make America great again,” said the former president, who painted a portrait of a country plagued by economic and social crises.
Trump was joined by a host of Republicans and other allies at the event. Many launched ad hominem attacks on Harris – one speaker called her “the devil” – and used inflammatory rhetoric against migrants, immigrant communities and perceived opponents.
Trump also blamed Harris — whom he described as a “radical left-wing Marxist” who is unintelligent and “unfit” to serve as president — for the problems facing the country. “You have destroyed our country,” he said, referring to the US vice president.
The rally comes just nine days before Americans go to the polls on Nov. 5 to choose their next president, with polls showing Trump and Harris in a fierce battle for the White House.
The election hinges on seven critical battleground states — including Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania — where the race remains too close to call.
Reporting from New York on Sunday night, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher explained that the election will likely come down to a few thousand voters who will “make the final verdict” in these swing states.
“And that’s where the candidates will focus their efforts in the last nine days of this election campaign,” Fisher said.
Both Harris and Trump’s camps urged supporters to get out to vote in the final stretch of their respective campaigns.
More than 41 million Americans had already voted in early in-person voting or by mail-in ballots by noon Sunday, according to data from the University of Florida’s Election Lab.
There is no bottom for Donald Trump.
MAGA extremists at the MSG rally called Vice President Harris “The Devil” and “The Antichrist” while likening her to a prostitute.
Republicans must abandon the vile and irresponsible rhetoric that threatens American lives and institutions.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) October 27, 2024
Harris was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, visiting a church, a barber shop and a Puerto Rican restaurant before spending time with youth basketball players at a local community center.
At a rally Sunday night, the Democratic vice president sought to portray his Republican rival as a divisive force in American politics and warned of the “high stakes” of the upcoming vote.
But she struck a more conciliatory tone than at some of her recent campaign events, where Harris has accused Trump of being a “fascist” and “outlaw.”
That may be the result of a recent warning from a leading pro-Harris political action committee, which said such attacks on the Republican may not be relatable to voters, The New York Times reported.
“Let’s approach this moment in a way that in the face of strangers we see neighbor,” Harris said during her event in Philadelphia.
“Let’s talk to each other about what we have in common,” she said.
“Let’s build a community and let’s knock on doors. Let’s write and call potential voters. Let’s reach out to our family and our friends, our classmates and our neighbors, tell them about the stakes in this election and tell them about their power.
But Harris’ camp seized on some of the dismissive remarks made by Trump and other speakers at the Madison Square Garden event, including a comedian who said Puerto Rico was a “floating island of trash.”
“Puerto Rico is home to some of the most talented, innovative and ambitious people in our country. And Puerto Ricans deserve a president who sees and invests[s] in this power,” Harris said in a campaign video shared on social media.
The exchange could give Harris a boost because there are large Puerto Rican populations in the key swing states of North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
As the campaign blitz continues ahead of Election Day, the Democrat will return to Michigan — another key swing state — on Monday to hold a rally alongside his running mate, Tim Waltz.
For his part, Trump will be in Atlanta, Georgia, to try to rally supporters in a state he narrowly lost to Democratic President Joe Biden in 2020.