Harris and Trump push for every vote with just 14 days to go

Harris and Trump push for every vote with just 14 days to go

Kamala Harris, who has campaigned with anti-Trump Republican Liz Cheney in Wisconsin, will soon put Barack and Michelle Obama onto the campaign trail

One of the tightest US election races of modern times enters its final, two-week stretch Tuesday, with Republican Donald Trump making a pitch to Latino voters as Democratic rival Kamala Harris sits down for a national TV interview.

Both campaigns are pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into a last push for undecided voters who could tilt the balance in their favor, with polls showing the candidates in a dead heat ahead of Election Day.

About 18 million Americans have already voted by mail or in person -- representing more than 10 percent of the total in 2020 -- and turnout could well be the deciding factor in who wins the White House.

Whatever the result, Americans will make history on November 5: they will either elect the first woman president in the world's leading superpower -- or they will put the first convicted felon into the White House.

Some polls appear to be giving Trump, who at 78 is the oldest nominee from a major party in US history, a slight edge recently -- but all within the margin of error.

The former president still refuses to accept his 2020 election defeat to outgoing President Joe Biden and is expected to reject the result if he loses -- potentially pitching the United States into chaos.

- The Obama factor -

Harris -- the vice president who only threw herself into the race in July, when Biden made the stunning decision to drop out -- will give a interview to NBC on Tuesday.

The 60-year-old, who celebrated her birthday over the weekend, will also deploy two of her party's most popular emissaries onto the campaign trail: Barack and Michelle Obama.

The former Democratic president and first lady will appear at various rallies in the coming days -- sometimes with Harris -- in three of the seven most hotly contested swing states that are likely to decide the outcome.

Trump, whose anti-migrant rhetoric is becoming coarser and more extreme by the day, will take part in a roundtable discussion with Latino voters at one of his Florida properties.

The Republican will then fly to North Carolina, another swing state where he also campaigned on Monday, for an event that is supposed to be devoted to the economy.

He rarely sticks to the topic at his rallies, however -- instead, he has been criticized for a tumultuous few weeks that have featured rambling monologues and threats about weaponizing the military against Democrats who he calls "the enemy from within."

One recent televised town hall veered into a surreal, impromptu music session as Trump abandoned discussion of the election to play his favorite hits while swaying on stage.

The Harris campaign has begun to hammer at his mental and physical fitness to occupy the Oval Office.

But a tide of MAGA-capped supporters continue to flock to his events, convinced that he is the victim of political persecution, or that Democrats are instigating threats against him.

Democrats are also seeking to woo moderate Republicans turned off by Trump's ominous rhetoric and scandals.

Harris has sought to frame herself as a "joyful warrior" seeking to turn the page on Trump's years of outrage and move into a new generation of American political leadership.

In her own efforts to target Latino voters, Harris will tape an interview Tuesday with Spanish-language TV network Telemundo likely to focus on jobs, housing and the cost of living.

cjc/st-bgs/sst

Originally published as Harris and Trump push for every vote with just 14 days to go