CHICAGO: Kamala Harris takes her surging US presidential campaign on a battleground bus tour Sunday, before heading to the Democratic National Convention for a star turn that will be shadowed by protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
The vice president, riding a wave of enthusiasm after replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket less than a month ago, will dash to the swing state of Pennsylvania to push her case against Republican rival Donald Trump.
Then the 59-year-old will jet to Chicago for a rapturous reception from Democrats, who have dared to hope again after an astonishing turnaround which has seen Harris wipe out Trump’s lead in the polls.
Security will however be tight with tens of thousands of protesters expected to rally from Sunday and then on every day of the convention against the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza.
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The demonstrations are expected to begin on Sunday and continue on Thursday, with major gatherings scheduled for Monday and Wednesday in particular.
The four-day Democratic bonanza comes hot on the heels of one of the most tumultuous election cycles in memory, including an assassination attempt on Trump and the 81-year-old Biden’s stunning withdrawal.
The 78-year-old Trump has struggled to adapt to a shake-up which has suddenly made him, instead of Biden, the oldest presidential candidate in US history.
Trump has lashed out at Harris with increasingly bizarre personal insults despite appeals by Republicans to stick to the issues.
As he too headed to Pennsylvania for a rally on Saturday, the former president doubled down on his confrontational style, saying that he was “much better looking” than Harris and branding her a “lunatic.”
Pennsylvania, in the US rust belt, is perhaps the most prized of all the swing states that could define the 2024 race and the candidates are making repeated visits there.
New Democratic standard-bearer Harris was squeezing in some crucial campaigning with running mate Tim Walz on Sunday, launching a bus tour from Pittsburgh before making multiple stops across western Pennsylvania to woo blue-collar voters.
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