【Epoch Times, October 28, 2024】The 2024 presidential election has entered its final full week, with much uncertainty still lingering. Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump are neck and neck in a fierce competition. The next few days will play a crucial role in determining the ultimate outcome. Here are the main highlights of this week:
The U.S. presidential election is rarely influenced by foreign affairs, but as millions of voters prepare to cast their ballots, the conflict in the Middle East is escalating.
It remains unclear how Iran will respond to Israel’s unusually open airstrikes on Iran last Friday, October 25th. The answer may determine whether the region escalates towards full-scale war or remains at the already highly destructive and unstable level of violence.
Iran’s response may also determine the extent of the Middle East conflict’s impact on the U.S. election.
For Kamala Harris, this is clearly a tricky issue as she struggles to navigate between pledging support for Israel while also expressing sympathy for the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed by Israel in retaliation for Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023. The Democratic vice president may continue to face strong pressure from the radical faction within the party that holds extreme criticisms of Israel.
Trump has consistently shown unwavering support for Israel, and during his first term, banned visitors from many Muslim countries from entering the U.S. Nonetheless, some Arab-American leaders, particularly in swing states like Michigan, have shown exceptionally strong support for the former Republican president.
For decades, the Middle East conflict has been one of the most tumultuous foreign policy challenges facing the U.S., and even under the best circumstances, the next president will inherit this legacy.
As election day approaches, Democrats are increasingly anxious. Harris’s senior team deliberately exuded optimism over the weekend to ease people’s fears.
Harris’s senior advisor, Jen O’Malley Dillon, predicted victory in an interview with MSNBC on Sunday, stating, “We believe we will win. We see an extraordinary enthusiasm that will be a close competition, and our campaign has met expectations.”
Harris is set to deliver a “Closing Argument” in the Oval Hall on Tuesday, further alleviating anxieties within the Democratic party.
It is expected that Harris will focus her speech on the danger Trump poses to American democracy. In recent days, she has referred to her Republican opponent as a “fascist.” Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, echoed this sentiment, calling Trump a fascist.
She is also expected to address broader themes to encourage voters to consider who will be sitting at the “Resolute Desk” in the White House during crucial moments. She aims to emphasize the importance of the November 5 election, especially to undecided voters, including moderate Republicans who may fear Trump’s actions and rhetoric. While Harris’s team believes many moderate Republicans can still be persuaded, progressive Democrats are concerned that her focus on economic issues is insufficient in the final days of the campaign, potentially turning their anxieties into reality.
In recent days, Trump’s campaign has sparked various controversies. At a rally in Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday evening, a comedian referred to Puerto Rico, a U.S. unincorporated territory in the Caribbean, as a “floating island of garbage,” leading to accusations of racially charged insults.
With eight days left until election day, some voters are concerned that Trump may say or do something controversial in this crucial final stage. However, there is also a possibility that Trump may moderate his actions in this regard.
Days ago, Trump hinted that his Democratic opponent was the “enemy within,” posing a greater threat to the U.S. than Russia and China. His remarks were criticized for their “authoritarian style.”
Democrats will scrutinize every interview and public appearance by Trump in hopes of finding similar content to exploit. Currently, multiple criminal investigations against Trump are ongoing, with him being convicted of 34 counts of felonies, potentially revealing new information.
Democrats acknowledge that voters’ perceptions of Trump are deeply entrenched, and unless something truly shocking occurs, the election’s trajectory is unlikely to change.
However, last-minute surprises are not unprecedented. On October 28, 2016, former FBI director James Comey informed Congress that FBI agents had discovered new emails related to the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.
The ever-changing schedules of the candidates will reveal much about the most important battleground states on election day.
Currently, Harris and Trump are engaged in fierce competition in seven swing states, which will ultimately determine the election outcome. In addition to Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina, these seven states include three so-called “Blue Wall” states: Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
However, politically speaking, these seven states are not equal in strength.
Harris spent Sunday in Pennsylvania, a state coveted by both sides in this election. She is expected to head to Michigan next. After delivering her final statement in Washington on Tuesday, she plans to visit North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin on Wednesday, followed by Nevada and Arizona on Thursday.
As for Trump’s schedule, he is expected to hold at least one rally every day next week: Georgia on Monday, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Wisconsin on Wednesday, Nevada on Thursday, returning to Wisconsin on Friday, and Virginia on Saturday.
However, these schedules may change based on the local circumstances of the campaign events.
Over 41 million votes have already been cast nationwide. Democrats typically have an advantage in early voting, but so far, Republican early voting participation rates have been significantly higher.
Trump has long encouraged his supporters to vote in person only on election day. Recognizing that this practice puts the Republicans at a disadvantage, he and the party have acknowledged the benefits of early voting in recent months, largely reversing the situation.
Due to the increased participation of Republican voters, records have been broken in early voting numbers in swing states like Georgia and North Carolina last week.
However, it remains unclear whether early voting numbers for Republicans will continue to rise as the party places more emphasis on “election integrity” rather than get-out-the-vote efforts.
As the 2024 election nears its conclusion, Trump has repeatedly stated that this election is not in his favor, reminding his supporters that he will only lose the election on November 5 in the case of political opponents cheating. This reminder adds a variable to the tense and intense election.
In the 2020 election, Trump lost. The Department of Justice, after an investigation, stated that no evidence of significant election fraud was found, nor was there evidence that Trump’s opponent could manipulate the election.
Then-US Attorney General William Barr stated on December 1, 2020, that “as of now, we have not found evidence of widespread fraud that could have affected a different outcome… there is no evidence.”
Currently, the Republican National Committee has invested millions of dollars and mobilized thousands of poll watchers, poll workers, and lawyers as “election integrity” overseers. Democrats accuse this move of harassing election workers and undermining trust in the voting process.
Preparing for potential legal battles, both parties are actively gearing up for what may come regardless of who wins.
(Information derived from reports by the Associated Press)