Photo: Alex Brandon Associated Press Donald Trump during the debate against Kamala Harris, September 10, 2024
Camille Camdessus – Agence France-Presse and Aurélia End – Agence France-Presse in Washington
Published at 3:32 p.m. Updated at 7:29 p.m.
- United States
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After their debate on Tuesday, which will likely remain the only one, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are picking up the pace and are racing through the decisive states, in search of the precious votes that could decide between them in about fifty days.
The vice president, who emerged victorious from this 90-minute confrontation, is trying to capitalize on this momentum: in North Carolina, she said on Thursday that “America was ready for a new path” and “a new generation of leaders.”
She again accused the former president of having been behind “immoral” restrictions on abortion rights, by modeling the Supreme Court that in 2022 dynamited the right to abortion at the federal level.
In this state where she is counting on the votes of African-Americans and young people to win against Trump, the 59-year-old Democrat also considered that “the voters deserved a second debate.”
A little earlier, the 78-year-old billionaire had on the contrary announced that he refused a new duel, while ensuring that he had won the first.
“There will be no third debate,” declared the Republican candidate in a publication on his Truth Social platform. He includes his televised exchange with Joe Biden in June in addition to his confrontation on Tuesday with the vice president.
“Filthy” conspiracy theories
At a rally Thursday in Arizona (southwest), a state bordering Mexico, he continued to refer to a false and racist claim that Haitian migrants were stealing dogs and cats to eat them in Springfield, a small town in Ohio.
“This was a beautiful community, it's horrible what happened,” he told the crowd, also mentioning, without proof, the case of migrants attacking “geese” or “raping young American girls.”
The Republican candidate promises if elected to fight illegal immigration with mass deportations.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said these “filthy” conspiracy theories put “lives in danger” as Springfield City Hall was evacuated Thursday following a bomb threat.
Photo: Jacquelyn Martin Associated Press
As in the previous two presidential elections, the 2024 election could be decided by a few thousand votes in some strategic counties in six or seven swing states, due to the voting method — indirect universal suffrage.
This prospect of a close election raises fears of a wave of potentially violent protests around the electoral operations, since Donald Trump has refused to commit to conceding a possible new defeat.
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“Short memory”
Federal authorities announced Thursday that the certification of the presidential result by Congress on January 6 would take place with the highest level of security possible for an official event in America.
On that date in 2021, Donald Trump supporters attacked the Capitol in an attempt to prevent parliamentarians from confirming Democrat Joe Biden's victory.
The latter, a good sport, praised Thursday via a spokesperson the “impressive” performance in the debate of Kamala Harris, who replaced him at short notice after his historic withdrawal of candidacy on July 21.
But can Tuesday’s exchange, seen by more than 67 million viewers, really make a difference, particularly in these six or seven pivotal states that the two candidates will plow between now and November 5? ?
“Voters have short memories,” says Kyle Kondik, a political scientist at the University of Virginia. The analyst assures that there is enough time before the election “for the impact of the debate – if there is one – to fade.”
In order to avoid any loss of momentum, Kamala Harris intends to increase her exchanges with the local press, she who has so far given a very limited number of interviews.
On Friday, the former California senator will travel to Pennsylvania. Donald Trump will participate in a campaign event in Nevada, after a press conference in the morning.
According to the polls, an overwhelming majority of voters have already chosen their camp and are leaning equally towards the Democrat and the Republican.