Both major presidential candidates will make appearances on Thursday, September 19th, to energize their core supporters. Vice President Kamala Harris will participate in a live stream with talk show host Oprah Winfrey, while Donald Trump will attend an event with prominent Jewish donors before speaking to the Israeli-American Council.
Winfrey, who has previously supported Harris and spoke at the August Democratic National Convention, will co-host a two-hour evening live event with Harris in Michigan under the theme “Unite for America”. The organizers aim to expand the influence of dozens of grassroots groups supporting the Vice President.
Trump, on the other hand, will be in Washington with Miriam Adelson, the widow of billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, for an evening event titled “Fighting Anti-Semitism in America”. Adelson, a major Republican donor, founded the Las Vegas Sands casino.
In addition to addressing the event with the Israeli-American Council, Trump will speak to an audience at the Israeli-American Council. The council, a non-profit organization, has long received support from Adelson and Haim Saban, a major donor to President Joe Biden and Democratic causes.
The council will hold a national convention in the weeks leading up to the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.
On Friday, Harris plans to hold campaign events in swing states Wisconsin and Georgia, highlighting the tragic case of a young mother who died after complications from taking abortion pills and waiting for hospital intervention for 20 hours. Harris sees this outcome as a consequence of Trump’s actions.
Investigative news agency ProPublica first reported on this death incident on Monday. The incident occurred in Georgia just two weeks before the state enacted strict abortion bans in 2022 following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn national abortion rights. Three of the justices who made this ruling were nominated by Trump.
Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign rally in North Carolina on Saturday.
The campaign events on Thursday took place after the Federal Reserve made a rare half-point cut in the benchmark interest rate, marking a dramatic shift after over two years of high rates. While high rates help curb inflation, they also make borrowing costs for U.S. consumers extremely expensive.
With less than seven weeks until the presidential election, the Fed’s move could disrupt the economic landscape as Americans prepare to vote. Trump, campaigning in New York on Wednesday, said, “I think, unless they’re playing politics, for them to cut that much of a rate drop, that just shows you how poorly the economy is doing.”
When asked about the political impact of lowering rates so close to the election day, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated, “The Biden administration has been very clear on this and has always respected the independence of the Federal Reserve.”
She added, “Unlike past administrations, I believe we have been very firm on this point and have consistently made it clear.”