During her tour of the US states that are particularly contested in the election, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris sharply attacked her Republican rival Donald Trump on the key issues of immigration, climate and abortion. Trump has “no interest and no desire” to do anything to improve the immigration system, Harris said on Friday (local time) during an appearance in Glendale, Arizona. The former president said that as vice president, Harris was responsible for the “worst border invasion in world history.”
Trump does not want to solve immigration problems, Harris told supporters in the city of Glendale. She recalled that in the spring, on Trump’s instructions, the Republicans in the Senate had blocked a previously negotiated bill that proposed changes to immigration policy. The reason for the Republicans’ resistance was suspected to be Trump’s intention to make border policy an election issue.
“Trump let the deal fall apart because he thought it would win him an election. If I’m president, I’ll sign the bill,” Harris said. The immigration system needs reform. “That includes strong border security and an earned path to citizenship,” she added.
Harris was tasked with managing the migration crisis at the border with Mexico as Vice President of President Joe Biden in 2021, but has come under criticism for a weak record on the issue. Trump said at a campaign rally in the state of Montana, referring to his first term in the White House: “I left her the strongest border in US history, she turned that into the worst border invasion in world history.”
If he returns to the White House, Trump has announced “mass deportations” of immigrants who have entered the country illegally. The Republican Party’s election platform states that the border should be closed and the “migrant invasion” stopped.
Trump, 78, has made significantly fewer campaign appearances in recent weeks than his 59-year-old rival. He has only appeared a few times since his official nomination in mid-July. His only appearance this week was in Montana, where he seems certain to win. No event is planned for next week.
Trump told journalists in his Florida residence on Thursday that he had not traveled to the contested swing states in the past because he was leading “very far” there. The Democrats were behind in the polls for a long time. When it became clear after Biden’s withdrawal that Harris would be the Democratic Party’s candidate, the gap narrowed. Trump had previously attacked the 81-year-old Biden on many occasions because of his advanced age. Harris’ team has turned the tables and is now spreading the word that Trump has “little energy.”
Harris and her vice presidential candidate Tim Walz are currently on a campaign tour lasting several days in the most contested US states. On Saturday, the team wanted to appear in Nevada. Before that, they had stopped in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. US presidential elections are often decided in the so-called swing states, which cannot be clearly assigned to one of the two political camps. This is why they are particularly important in the close race between Harris and Trump.
In Arizona, Harris also sharply attacked Trump on other key issues such as climate change. Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on man-made climate change. “In Arizona (…) you know this crisis is real. He calls it a hoax,” Harris said in Glendale. Last year, Arizona’s capital Phoenix experienced temperatures of more than 43 degrees for 31 days in a row.
Harris also addressed the thorny issue of abortion. “Today, there is a Trump abortion ban in more than 20 states across our nation,” she said, referring to the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned the nation’s right to abortion and left it up to individual states to regulate. Three of the six Supreme Court justices who voted to abolish the right were nominated by Trump during his time as president.
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