Donald Trump and Kamala Harris step out of their comfort zone

Photo: Elijah Nouvelage Agence France-Presse/Geoff Robins Agence France-Presse Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Cumming, Georgia, on October 15, 2024, and US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Detroit, Michigan, on October 15, 2024.

Sébastien Blanc – Agence France-Presse in Washington

Published at 11:46

• United States

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are venturing out of their comfort zone on Wednesday, the former with a question-and-answer session in front of an all-female audience, the latter with an interview on Fox News, the favorite channel of American conservatives.

The Republican billionaire will be questioned on issues that directly concern women, warned journalist Harris Faulkner, who also works for Fox News.

The show, pre-recorded Tuesday in the highly contested state of Georgia, will air Wednesday at 11 a.m.

The sensitive issue of abortion rights will be on the agenda. A minefield for Donald Trump, who is struggling not to disappoint his most conservative supporters without alienating a large part of the female electorate.

On the one hand, he boasts of having appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States the judges who helped to overturn federal protection of the right to abortion in 2022, on the other hand he refrains from advocating a total ban on abortion, which is unpopular nationally.

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In an excerpt from the interview released in advance, the septuagenarian declares himself to be “the father of in vitro fertilization,” a way no doubt of wanting to pose as a defender of the traditional family. “What is he talking about?,” replied his Democratic rival on X.

Trump expected on abortion

Kamala Harris’ campaign announced plans Wednesday to run ads exposing “the harm Trump’s abortion bans have done to women and girls across the country,” at the same time the Republican nominee speaks on the issue.

The vice president can expect a no-holds-barred interview on Fox News, a first for someone who until recently was criticized for avoiding putting herself in danger with such encounters.

The 59-year-old candidate will face Bret Baier, a veteran journalist and a mainstay of Fox News’ political department. He promised that the interview would air in its entirety, uncut, at 6 p.m., immediately after it was taped.

His daily show, Special Report With Bret Baier, draws 2.3 million viewers Monday through Friday.

In addition to this must-see interview, Kamala Harris will hold a campaign rally on Wednesday at Washington Crossing, north of Philadelphia.

See also

• Georgia judge blocks rule requiring hand counting of ballots
• What is a key state in the US elections? ? What influences them? ?
• Harris questions Trump's health after strange musical episode

The pace picks up

Donald Trump will answer questions from Latino voters gathered in Miami by Univision, the largest Spanish-language television network in the United States.

With 20 days to make a difference, both opponents are pulling out all the stops, both in the media and in their campaign meetings. Billionaire Elon Musk has invested $75 million in the Republican's campaign.

They are neck and neck more than ever, with Donald Trump having managed to make up for his rival's very slight lead in the polls, particularly in the key northern states.

It is also in this region that the vice-president is focusing her efforts this week: She is returning to Pennsylvania on Wednesday, where she was already on Monday, after a detour to Michigan and before heading to Wisconsin in the evening.

But the outcome of the presidential election could be decided elsewhere, in another of the seven clearly identified key states.

For example, in Georgia, a judge on Tuesday blocked a measure requiring ballots to be counted by hand, as the first day of early voting was well attended.

In his ruling, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said the new rule would disrupt the electoral process and that it was “too late” to accept it.