In the final weeks of the fiercely competitive presidential election, both Trump and Harris are working hard to expand their respective alliances, blurring the long-standing clear boundaries of their policy priorities. Both candidates have taken positions that would have been strongly opposed by their supporters in the past.
It is expected that the outcome of this race will likely depend on how many discontented suburban Republicans will vote for Harris and how many traditional Democratic supporters, such as African Americans, Latinos, young people, and union members, will switch to support Trump.
Trump is set to visit the swing state of Pennsylvania on Monday, September 23, and attend an event in the rural outskirts of Pittsburgh at 3 p.m., organized by the Protecting America Initiative led by former Acting Director of National Intelligence under the Trump administration, Richard Grenell, and former New York federal congressman Lee Zeldin.
The focus of the event is to promise voters an increase in the US food supply and protection for American farmers.
According to the National Agricultural Law Center, 24 states prohibit or restrict foreign nationals without residency rights, as well as foreign companies or governments, from owning private agricultural land. This issue arose when a Chinese billionaire purchased over 130,000 acres of land near a US Air Force base in Texas and another Chinese company attempted to build a corn plant near an Air Force base in North Dakota.
Trump supports imposing tariffs, attracting working-class voters who oppose free trade agreements and the outsourcing of factories and jobs.
Harris is also set to visit Pennsylvania again on Wednesday.
Vice President Harris’s transition team has reached an agreement with the General Services Administration to accept pre-election support from the federal government in preparation for the potential presidency.
By law, the agency must provide office space, technical support, and other resources to the nominees of the major political parties and publish the agreement on its website by Monday. The memorandum dated September 19 covers information technology, record-keeping, and ethical policies.
There is currently no information on whether Trump’s team will reach an agreement before election day. However, the agency stated that once the agreement is signed and services are accepted, they are prepared to provide services to Trump’s transition team.
The entire federal government’s transition plan is progressing smoothly until President Joe Biden hands over power to Trump or Harris on January 20, 2025.
Last week, White House Office Director Jeffrey Zients chaired a meeting of the White House Transition Coordination Committee, with representatives of a presidential candidate participating for the first time this year. Various agencies of the committee are preparing detailed briefing memos to share with the eventual winner’s team.
The Department of Justice announced on Monday that in the suspected assassination attempt on Trump at a golf course in Florida, the accused man left a note stating his intention to kill the former president. In his car, a handwritten list of dates and locations where Trump would attend events was found.
The note addressed to “Dear World” was placed in a box, along with ammunition, metal pipes, and other items, left in the home of an unidentified person. The box was only opened after Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested last Sunday and contacted federal authorities.
The Department of Justice listed new charges against Routh in a detention memorandum.
During Monday’s hearing, US judge Ryon McCabe agreed with the Department of Justice that the evidence against 58-year-old Routh for continued detention is “very compelling.”
(Reference: The Associated Press)