The final days in the dramatic race to the White House

(Dan Tri) - Only a few days left until November 5, the day American voters go to the polls to choose a new leader to lead America for the next 4 years to overcome "storms" across 5 continents and divisions within America.

Before the end of the election campaign, both "equally matched" opponents, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, had put all their efforts into completing their election campaigns.

Concentrate all efforts to win in 7 battleground states

In the final days of the campaign, Ms. Harris was busy traveling across seven key battleground states to try to campaign and reach out to more undecided voters. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump also continuously carried out equally drastic activities with a dense rally schedule in the very states that will determine the final outcome of the 2024 presidential election. The seven "battleground" states of this race are: Michigan (16 electoral votes), Pennsylvania (19 votes), Wisconsin (10 votes), Arizona (11 votes), Georgia (16 votes), Nevada (6 votes) and North Carolina (16 votes). A candidate needs to receive at least 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. These states have a total of 94 electoral votes, enough to play a decisive role in deciding the winner of the race to the White House. In particular, Pennsylvania with 19 electoral votes is considered the "key" to victory, where both candidates concentrate the largest resources. This state was also the deciding point in the 2020 election and is expected to continue to play a key role this year. In addition, in Michigan, the Arab American community with about 200,000 voters is becoming an unexpected "card" that can turn the situation around. The voting tradition of this state over the past two decades shows that the gap between the candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties usually fluctuates within 2-3% of the votes, allowing each voting bloc to make a difference in the final result.

Foreign affairs greatly influence elections

US elections rarely revolve around domestic issues, and this time is no exception. Foreign affairs are even more prominent than in many previous elections due to the erupting tensions and many new, complex developments in Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. This forces both presidential candidates to carefully consider every aspect so as not to lose the favor of voters on any side, with the aim of at least not being surprised by the votes of the candidates their campaigns are counting on to win in the end. Ms. Harris, as the Democratic candidate, is really trying to "walk a tightrope" by showing strong support for Israel while skillfully expressing concern about the sacrifices and losses and the life of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Some people say figuratively that Ms. Harris is performing a delicate political ballet, balancing on the tightrope of Democratic support while meeting the expectations of progressive voters and the Arab-Palestinian community. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump continues to accuse Ms. Harris of plunging the world into World War III if she wins; promising that if she wins, she will not send a single American to fight and die abroad. In addition, Mr. Trump remains loyal to his "say what you do" style by expressing unconditional support for Israel, but surprisingly, this seems to have won him support from some leaders of the American Arab community, especially in the battleground state of Michigan.

"Bread and butter" is still the top priority

However, issues directly related to "bread and butter" are always of particular concern to voters. Faced with escalating inflation with food prices increasing 3.7% and housing prices increasing 7.2% compared to 2023, many voters turned to support Mr. Trump because they believe the former President is better able to handle economic issues than the Democratic candidate. While Ms. Harris pledged to curb inflation through prudent fiscal measures and increase the child credit fund to $3,000/year, Mr. Trump proposed cutting corporate taxes to 15% and increasing taxes on imported goods to the US to 10%, and will vigorously deport illegal immigrants. Right before this election, important social welfare issues such as pensions and health care are once again receiving special attention. The reality is that the Social Security and Medicare trust funds are at risk of being depleted or having to cut social welfare benefits after 2035. While Ms. Harris supports the government actively supporting vulnerable groups and those struggling to escape poverty through increasing taxes on those earning over $400,000 a year, Mr. Trump emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility, market mechanisms and tax cuts to encourage increased labor productivity.

Unexpected developments at the end of the campaign

Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden in New York on the evening of October 29, the last official event before the election campaign ended, was expected to be a show to unite the entire United States. However, surprisingly, it did not go as expected when some people around Trump made racist statements, including calling Puerto Rico a "floating trash island", causing a large part of public opinion to be dissatisfied. But the Republican candidate did not have to wait long to benefit similarly when President Biden, at a rally to support Ms. Harris, caused a public storm that made Ms. Harris awkward when he said that the people around Mr. Trump were "society's trash". In addition, Mr. Trump continued to heat up the political atmosphere with tough statements, calling his political opponents "internal enemies" more dangerous than America's geopolitical rivals. With 34 charges pending, this could be seen as a risky move by the former President, betting on the unconditional support of loyal supporters.

Record number of early voters

This time, the United States still maintains the traditional rule of allowing voters to vote early from October 24. According to data from the US Elections Project, more than 40 million ballots have been cast early, an increase of 23% over the same period in 2020. Of which, 21.3 million votes were cast by mail; 18.7 million votes were cast in person early. According to experts' analysis, the above results reflect the unprecedented level of interest of American voters in this election, and also show the change in voting habits of Americans after the Covid-19 pandemic. With such a high number of early votes, in which the Democratic Party received 43% of the early votes (the Republican Party received 37% and the independent candidate received 20%), Ms. Harris has reason to be happy. However, Mr. Trump's campaign is not too disappointed as their voter participation rate in the early election has increased significantly compared to previous elections.

"Ultimate move" and predictions

On the evening of October 29, Ms. Harris ended her campaign with a rally at Ellipse Park in Washington, DC. Although this is not a battleground state, it is a highly symbolic location and also where Mr. Trump spoke before the riots on January 6, 2021. Unlike previous times when she often appeared gentle and cheerful, this time Ms. Harris showed more "hardness" when focusing on strongly attacking the former President personally, calling Mr. Trump a person who "divides America" ​​and only knows "hatred" and "discontent". Ms. Harris also described her opponent as "a threat to American democracy" to aim to win over more moderate Republican voters as well as all those who are still undecided. As for Mr. Trump, in addition to promising to "make America great again," "end inflation," and "stop crime," the Republican candidate still persists with his "secret weapon" of accusing election fraud. In fact, the Republican Party has prepared more than 40 top lawyers to monitor the vote counting process and is ready to sue if irregularities are discovered.

Don't be too quick to guess the winner.

There is only one week left before the election to elect the 47th President of the United States can be decided. The latest polls from RealClearPolitics show that the national support rate is currently Mr. Trump 45.7% and Ms. Harris 44.3%, a gap that is still within the statistical margin of error. Particularly in the battleground states, the two candidates are still chasing each other quite closely with a small advantage temporarily leaning towards Mr. Trump. While Professor Allan Lichtman of American University, who has correctly predicted almost all the results of presidential elections since 1988, still maintains his prediction that Ms. Harris will win, the general public is more inclined towards Mr. Trump's victory. With such dramatic and unpredictable developments, it may be necessary to wait until the last hours to know who will be given the key to the White House by American voters for the next 4 years. Because as "election prophet" Allan Lichtman believes Ms. Harris will win the election but still notes: "In American politics, a week is a century. Everything can change overnight." But one thing is certain: "No matter who wins, the biggest challenge is healing a deeply divided country," political analyst James Anderson commented. And no matter who wins, it is certain that the results of the 2024 presidential election will leave an important historical mark on both the United States in particular and the world in general.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/nhung-ngay-nuoc-rut-trong-cuoc-dua-kich-tinh-vao-nha-trang-20241031205243041.htm