Beyoncé vs Big Macs: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris pull out all stops as the US election hits the home stretch
analysis
Donald Trump used a photo opportunity at McDonald's to make a political point.
Welcome back to your weekly update on US politics, where North America bureau chief Jade Macmillan catches you up on the biggest developments as we hurtle towards election day in November.
Politicians the world over love a good photo opportunity, but few could hope to attract as much attention as Donald Trump serving up French fries at McDonald's.
The former president donned an apron over his signature red tie before learning how to work the fryer at a store in Pennsylvania.
It was a stage-managed affair, both for security and political reasons. The store was closed to the public, the "customers" were screened by the Secret Service ahead of time, and all of them appeared to be big fans of Trump's.
"Make America great again", a couple of them exclaimed as he handed out food from the drive-through window.
Trump is a well-known enthusiast of the fast-food chain and famously served Big Macs to champion football players at the White House in 2019.
Trump worked with McDonald's employees during the store visit and said it "requires great expertise" to serve fries.
But the visit was about more than simply dropping into a local business in a critical swing state.
It was designed to take a dig at his opponent, Kamala Harris, who he's accused of lying about having worked at McDonalds as a college student.
"I've now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala," he said. "She never worked here."
Harris has spoken about working at McDonald's as part of her pitch that she comes from, and therefore understands, the needs of middle-class Americans.
Her campaign hasn't produced any evidence of her employment, however the company says it doesn't have thorough records dating back to that period. And Trump's team hasn't been able to prove that she didn't work there, either.
But that hasn't stopped the former president and his allies from using the issue to try to reinforce his "Lyin' Kamala" nickname for the vice-president.
And as a very close race enters its final stretch, the Maccas moment gave him yet another viral moment on social media.
A Trump campaign sign in Michigan.
Trump also drew headlines this week for criticising Harris as "lazy as hell", making veiled remarks about a golfing legend's genitals, and doubling down on his description of some Democrats as the "enemy within".
Whether or not his team would prefer he sticks to the issues considered to be his strengths with voters, like the economy and immigration, Trump is following a familiar, spotlight-grabbing pattern.
And for all the Americans turned off by his approach, he's banking that more of them – especially cohorts who don't always vote in large numbers, like young men – will be motivated to turn out for him.
Harris's play for Republicans
Less than two weeks out from election day, Harris is also increasingly focused on her opponent.
When the vice-president first took over from Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, she tried to project a message of optimism.
Her running mate, Tim Walz, used his speech to the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to thank Harris for "bringing the joy to this fight".
But she's now spending more time echoing what had been a major theme of Biden's campaign: that Trump represents a threat to US democracy.
Harris seized on accusations from former White House chief of staff John Kelly that his old boss "prefers the dictator approach to government" and meets, in his opinion, the definition of a fascist.
Former aides of Donald Trump have been warning they believe he wants to be a dictator.
It followed a similar warning from the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Mark Milley, who told journalist Bob Woodward that Trump was "fascist to the core" and "the most dangerous person to this country".
The former president's team has rejected both sets of claims, but Harris argues they offer "a window into who Donald Trump really is, from the people who know him best".
Asked by CNN later that day whether she believed Trump was a fascist, she replied: "Yes I do."
Harris will seek to emphasise that message with a speech next week, at the spot near the White House where Trump rallied his supporters ahead of their January 6 march on the Capitol.
Nearly four years on from the attack, there's a largely partisan divide over how serious it was and who was to blame. Trump has promised to pardon some of the hundreds of rioters who've been jailed.
But Harris wants to remind voters of the violence in Washington to further her argument that the former president is unfit for office.
And she's hoping at least some conservatives, who would normally vote Republican but are worried about a second Trump presidency, could be recruited to her side.
It's also why she's spent so much time campaigning with high-profile Republican figures like Liz Cheney, the former congresswoman and daughter of George W Bush's vice-president, Dick Cheney, who's thrown her support behind Harris.
Liz Cheney has joined Kamala Harris on the campaign trail.
"I would just remind [Republicans], if you're at all concerned, you can vote your conscience and not ever have to say a word to anybody," Cheney said at an event with Harris in Michigan.
"And there will be millions of Republicans who will do that on November fifth."
One to watch: Celeb-spotting on the campaign trial
In a country without compulsory voting, it's not enough for candidates to convince Americans that they offer a better vision for the country than their opponent.
They also need to motivate them to show up at the ballot box.
Democrats are fond of celebrity endorsements, rolling out A-listers at campaign events in the hope of drawing attention and encouraging their fan bases to follow their political lead.
Harris's schedule had a slew of musical guests this week, including Eminem, Lizzo and Bruce Springsteen.
But an arguably bigger name could still be to come, with superstar Beyoncé expected to attend an upcoming rally in Houston.
Beyoncé is expected to perform at a Kamala Harris rally in Houston.
Texas reliably votes Republican, and is not considered at play in this election.
But it has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country, and Harris has made reproductive rights central to her campaign in the aftermath of the fall of Roe v Wade.
An appearance by Queen Bey – rumours of which failed to materialise at the DNC – will at the very least turbocharge media interest in the event.
Trump meanwhile was joined this week by former NFL stars Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell at a rally in Pennsylvania.
And his backing from the world's richest person, Elon Musk, was again front and centre as the billionaire announced a daily giveaway of $US1 million ($1.5 million) to swing state voters who signed a petition run by his political action committee (PAC).
The Department of Justice has reportedly warned the PAC that it could be in breach of campaign finance laws, and there haven't been any new winners announced since.
But it's not the only way Trump is being helped by Musk, who's also using a speaking tour, and the megaphone of his social platform X, to lobby for his campaign.
By：https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-25/trump-harris-election-week-in-us-politics-macmillan/104512878(责任编辑：admin)
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