Interview, field, debate: Harris and Trump move up a gear

Crowned with her triumphant inauguration in Chicago, Kamala Harris is beginning a new phase of her campaign, ten weeks before a presidential election that still promises to be very tight, and while her rival Donald Trump is, like her, scouring the strategic states.

The Democratic vice president, running against the former Republican president, will be campaigning Wednesday and Thursday in Georgia, one of the seven “swing states” where the November 5 election promises to be particularly contested.

She will crisscross rural areas of this southern state by bus, which President Joe Biden won by a narrow margin.

“We flipped Georgia to the Democratic side for the first time in three decades in 2020 and are putting the resources in place to win again in 2024,” Kamala Harris' campaign team said.

It is also in Georgia that the 59-year-old Democrat will give her first interview as a candidate on Thursday, on CNN, and in the company of her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

– Human shield” –

A close adviser to her Republican opponent, Jason Miller, criticized Kamala Harris for using Tim Walz as a “human shield”, in an interview with Newsmax, a favorite of the radical right.

The interview with journalist Dana Bash will be broadcast at 9:00 p.m. local time (01:00 GMT Friday), CNN said.

The vice president, who has painful memories of a botched interview early in her term on the subject of immigration, was facing growing pressure to answer questions from a major American media outlet.

Since her spectacular entry into the campaign, following Joe Biden's stunning withdrawal on July 21, she has limited herself to very brief exchanges with journalists or meetings with influencers.

The interview on CNN, which is to be followed on September 10 by a highly anticipated debate with Donald Trump on ABC, shows that this extraordinary presidential campaign is entering a new phase.

The former Republican president assured Tuesday that an “agreement” had been reached on the technical modalities of the debate, two days after threatening not to participate, which the Harris camp has not confirmed.

– “Swing states” –

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

Kamala Harris has gained some momentum in the polls and is just coming off a truly triumphant Democratic nomination convention in Chicago.

But the race remains extremely tight, particularly in the famous “swing states” on which the two candidates are now concentrating their efforts.

Donald Trump, who was in Michigan on Monday, returns there on Thursday before also going to Wisconsin. He will set sail for Pennsylvania on Friday.

His rival has a very similar program, since she will also be in Michigan and Pennsylvania on Monday, September 2, Labor Day in the United States.

Former US President Donald Trump gives a speech to the National Guard Association in Detroit, Michigan, on August 26, 2024 © AFP – JEFF KOWALSKY

The 78-year-old Republican can count on a very stable base, and even more fervent since he was the victim of an assassination attempt on July 13.

The numerous legal proceedings weighing on him do not change anything, and even mobilize more “Trumpists” convinced that their candidate is the victim, as he repeated again on Tuesday, of a “witch hunt”.

– Polls –

The FiveThirtyEight website, which aggregates several polls, gives the vice president a 3.5 point lead over her Republican rival.

Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz in Rochester (Pennsylvania), August 18, 2024 © AFP – ANGELA WEISS

This does not guarantee her that she will win the majority of the votes of the electors.

The Republican billionaire has been multiplying attacks on the personality of his rival, whom he describes as “not very intelligent”, and on her record.

“Just five weeks ago (…) she was considered a terrible vice president”, Donald Trump said during an interview broadcast Tuesday with Dr Phil, a former American television star.

Kamala Harris' campaign team has released a video attacking the “2025 Project”, a very conservative government program developed by Donald Trump's close associates.

The former president wants to have “total control” of the country, warns the narrator of the clip in a serious voice.

All reproduction and representation rights reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse