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Harris appeals to Arab Americans, Trump embraces violent rhetoric

STORY: As the U.S. presidential candidates draw their campaigns to a close, Democrat Kamala Harris and her Republican opponent Donald Trump struck contrasting tones on Sunday. While Harris made her closing pitch to undecided voters in Michigan, Trump leaned into violent rhetoric, and seemed more focused on revving up his base. In Pennsylvania, where Trump survived an assassination attempt in July, the former president on Sunday frequently abandoned his teleprompter with off-the-cuff remarks. At one point, he complained about gaps in the bulletproof glass surrounding him, and mused that an assassin would have to shoot through the news media to hit him. “And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don’t mind that so much because I don’t mind. I don’t mind that.” Though Trump frequently bashes the media at his rallies and has tried to turn public opinion against them, a campaign spokesperson said the comment was not directed toward the media but rather “threats against him that were spurred on by dangerous rhetoric from Democrats.” After a stop in North Carolina, Trump went on to a rally in Macon, Georgia, another of the seven battleground states likely to decide the November 5 election. Trump called the United States a “nation in decline” and warned, without evidence, of a second Great Depression with “people jumping off buildings.” Meanwhile, Harris on Sunday was in the swing state of Michigan. She first spoke to parishioners at a historically Black church in Detroit, before heading on to a rally in East Lansing, where she courted the state’s 200,000 Arab Americans. Harris started her speech with a nod to civilian victims of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon. “This year has been difficult, given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon, it is devastating. And as president, I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza.” Reuters/Ipsos polling shows that voters overall view both candidates unfavorably. But that does not appear to be dissuading them from casting ballots. Data from the University of Florida’s Election Lab shows that more than 78 million Americans have already voted early. That’s nearly half of the total votes that were cast in 2020, in which U.S. voter turnout was the highest in more than a century.