Harris, Trump Have to Share as Campaigns Flood South

Supporters turn out in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 2, 2024 5:41 PM CDT
Harris, Trump Have to Share as Campaigns Flood South
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally, Saturday at the PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte.   (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

The presidential candidates are nearly tripping over each other on the final weekend of their campaign as Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump compete for votes in the South. After being parked near each other overnight at a Milwaukee airport, their planes again shared tarmac space Saturday at Charlotte Douglas International Airport while the candidates held rallies in North Carolina, CBS News reports. Their running mates' planes endured similar awkwardness when they were parked close to each other overnight in Detroit and again Saturday in Las Vegas. Once Harris and Trump reached their destinations, it went like this:

  • Gastonia, North Carolina: "We have overcome every attack, every abuse and even two assassination attempts," Trump told his rally near Charlotte. "And now it all comes down to this." The Republican nominee acknowledged his campaign's struggle to win over female voters, per the Washington Post. "I'm great with men, but I'm sort of soft with like the women stuff," Trump said. He returned to his statement this week that he'd protect women, "whether the women like it or not." Trump said he'd been criticized for that and elaborated in Gastonia by saying, "women have to be protected when they're at home in suburbia."
  • Atlanta: "Unlike Donald Trump, I don't believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy," Harris told supporters, per CNN. "He wants to put them in jail. I will give them a seat at the table." The Democratic nominee added, "That's what real leaders do." Her speech began by focusing on economic issues before shifting to abortion rights, per the New York Times. Georgia, she said, is one of the states with "a Trump abortion ban." Harris repeatedly interrupted herself to call for medical assistance for people in the crowd, many of whom had been standing in the sun and heat for hours to see her.
  • Salem, Virginia: In a state that hasn't voted for a Republican nominee since 2004, Trump said it could happen this time. "We win Virginia, we win the whole thing," he said at a rally, adding, "Wouldn't it be cool?" Trump also told the crowd that he'll win the national popular vote this time, which he didn't do in 2016 or 2020. He brought female athletes onstage, per NBC News, and promised to "keep men out of women's sports."
  • Charlotte: Twice interrupted by apparent pro-Palestinian protesters at the front of the crowd, Harris said, "This is what democracy looks like" and acknowledged their right to speak out. "But now, I am speaking," she said, per the Post. The crowd drowned out the protesters with "Kamala!" and the demonstrators were escorted out by police. "We all want that war in the Middle East to end," Harris said. She urged supporters to talk with friends and family about why they went to the rally. To people who hadn't voted yet, Harris said, "No judgment, but please do get to it."
(More Election 2024 stories.)

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