Harris, Trump hit campaign trail in Michigan, clash over who has more stamina
Harris questions Trump’s stamina and age, asserting that they undermine his ability to effectively serve as United States president
October 19, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump are swapping jabs to gather as much support as possible from swing states. Harris questioned Trump’s physical ability to perform his duties effectively as president, while Trump mentioned the efforts and power he put into the campaign trail.
Harris expressed doubts about 78-year-old Trump comparing it to the situation 81-year-old Joe Biden was dragged into, that lead him to drop out of his election bid.
Harris said on Friday news reports that former President Trump was skipping interviews because he was tired and had passed on the chance of a second debate with her raised questions about his fitness for office.
"It should be a concern. If he can't handle the rigors of the campaign trail, is he fit to do the job?" she told reporters before a rally in Grand Rapids. "That's a legitimate question."
Trump, talking to reporters as he arrived in Detroit, rejected such talk. "I've gone 48 days now without a rest," he said.
"I'm not even tired. I'm really exhilarated. You know why? We're killing her in the polls, because the American people don't want her."
With just 18 days remaining until the election Trump and Harris are swapping jabs in order to dominate over seven states that will decide the 2024 US presidential election
In a Fox & Friends interview, Trump also griped about negative television ads on Fox about him and said he would ask Rupert Murdoch, the founder of News Corp, opens new tab and who also launched Fox News, to ensure such ads are not broadcast until Election Day on November 5.
"I'm going to say, 'Rupert, please do it this way and then we're going to have a victory, cause everyone wants that,'" Trump said.
Trump was seeking support from Arab Americans in Michigan.
"We all ultimately want one thing. We want peace in the Middle East. We're going to get peace in the Middle East. It's going to happen very fast. It can happen with the right leadership in Washington," Trump said, without elaborating.
Harris and Trump are battling fiercely for the state's Arab American, senior, union and working-class voters.
Trump won Michigan by 11,000 votes in 2016. In 2020, Biden beat Trump in the state by 155,000 votes.
Harris is shifting the strategy of her whirlwind campaign to win over more Republicans and men of all races. She's also enlisting popular former first lady Michelle Obama, who will campaign for Harris in Michigan on October 26.
Nationally, Harris' edge has narrowed from a late September lead of 7 percentage points over Trump to just 3 points, Reuters/Ipsos polling shows, with high food and rent prices still worrying Americans and Trump amplifying fears related to migrants crossing the US-Mexico border with increasingly extreme rhetoric.
