Harris turns 60, Trump accuses rival of lying

Photo: Jacquelyn Martin Associated Press Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris reacts as she is surprised by her campaign team with birthday decorations before leaving Atlanta for Philadelphia on Sunday.

Charly Triballeau – Agence France-Presse and Sébastien Blanc – Agence France-Presse in Lancaster and Washington

Published at 17:00

• United States

Kamala Harris turned sixty on Sunday with a “happy birthday” sung by Stevie Wonder in an African-American church. Her rival Donald Trump accused the Democrat of lying from a fast-food restaurant in Pennsylvania.

Rather than her age, the Democrat mainly talked over the weekend about the age of the 78-year-old Republican, who she said is “unstable” and “unfit” to lead the United States again.

With 16 days to go until the White House election, the vice president and the billionaire are doubling down on a fast-paced and increasingly tense race.

Kamala Harris, who is a Baptist, spoke at two Atlanta-area churches attended by African-American worshippers.

In the first, she stressed “compassion,” “respect” and “love” in the face of “those who stir up division, spread fear and cause chaos.”

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In the second, she received the support of Stevie Wonder, a huge black star, after having benefited the day before from rapper Lizzo and R&B singer Usher.

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The vice-president is recording relatively disappointing voting intentions among African-Americans, a category of voters who are nevertheless predominantly Democratic.

She then set her sights on Pennsylvania, which is a royal trophy among the seven swing states where the presidential election will be played out on November 5.

Trump at McDonald’s

Donald Trump was already there. He staged himself on Sunday, in a McDonald’s restaurant, playing the role of a fryer employee, an operation aimed at denouncing according to him a lie by Kamala Harris.

Protected by an apron, we see him draining the frying basket, generously salting the fries before putting them in bags.

Kamala Harris claims to have had a summer job at McDonald’s, in 1983, when she was a student. She would have alternated between the cash register, the fryer and the ice cream machine of a restaurant in Alameda, near Oakland, California.

Donald Trump claims that this is a lie, out of pure electoral opportunism. The fast-food job is indeed a reality that millions of Americans can identify with.

The Republican campaign team has not provided any evidence to support the lie theory. And the Democrat’s has not shown any material evidence supporting this summer job at McDonald’s.

Real exhaustion or not ?

The outcome of the presidential election remains more uncertain than ever, with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris neck and neck in the polls.

After having long held back on the issue of her opponent’s age, the vice president is now making it a preferred angle of attack, as a revenge on behalf of Joe Biden, who was prematurely removed from the competition in July for this reason.

In Atlanta, she accused her opponent of “dodging debates and canceling interviews because of exhaustion”.

Meanwhile, the septuagenarian held his own for more than an hour and a half on stage in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, alternating between anecdotes, personal attacks, promises and showing campaign clips.

Kamala Harris is a “failure who has less energy than a rabbit,” he said this week. On Saturday, he went further, in a diatribe targeting his rival.

“You're a shitty vice president, the worst, you're fired, get out of here,” he told the crowd, encouraging his voters to get this message across to him at the ballot box.

Musk's checks

To pick up precious votes that could make a difference, the populist tribune can count on the growing involvement of Elon Musk.

The super-rich boss of Tesla and SpaceX is now doing more than just drumming up support on social media and putting his hand in his wallet: he's physically campaigning for Donald Trump.

Since Thursday, he has been seen crisscrossing Pennsylvania, where he is offering $100 to every voter willing to sign a pro-Trump petition.

On Saturday, he even handed a check for $1 million to one of the signatories during a question-and-answer session in Harrisburg.