Triumphantly invested by their respective parties, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are engaged in the final sprint towards the presidential election on November 5, in a campaign which should rebound on Friday.
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Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jrnephew of assassinated President JFK, is expected to withdraw from the race and urge voters to vote for the Republican candidate.
The American vice president accepted the nomination of excited Democratic delegates in Chicago on Thursday, at the end of a euphoric convention marked among other things by Michelle Obama’s hard-hitting speech, the energy of running mate Tim Walz and a festive musical program.
She promised America a “new path” of unity.
Donald Trump, who bombarded his Truth Social network with angry messages during the vice president’s speech, accused her of contributing to the “decline” of the United States.
The duelists will be able to pit their two visions against each other on September 10 in Pennsylvania (northeast) during their first debate, the next highlight of the campaign.
“Swing States”
Kamala Harris, abruptly thrust into one of the toughest political battles in American history, has created immense fervor in her party around a candidacy that did not exist a month ago.
She is slightly ahead in most polls.
But nothing is decided, especially not in the seven “Swing States”, the most contested states, where large sections of the electorate seem to have won over the former Republican president.
Donald Trump is going to two of them on Friday, in the west of the country: first to Las Vegas in Nevada to promise tax cuts, then to Arizona for a campaign rally with a “surprise guest.”
Is this Robert F. Kennedy Jr? The independent candidate is credited with between 4 and 5% of voting intentions, but the impact of his support for the campaign of the former Republican president remains uncertain, according to the polls.
Who knows how many more upheavals this crazy campaign has in store, after the assassination attempt on the former Republican president on July 13 and the shock withdrawal of Democratic President Joe Biden on July 21?
“It’s up to us to attack”
In Chicago, the great voices of the Democratic Party, in particular the Obamas and the Clintons, warned the Democrats against any triumphalism.
“We’ve seen more than one election slip away from us when we thought it was impossible, because people got too confident or got distracted by the wrong issues,” warned former President Bill Clinton.
In Chicago, the most telling metaphor came from Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a former American football coach.
He recalled that the Democrats, with just minutes to go, were down a few points. “But it’s up to us to attack and we have the ball,” “Coach Walz” told a convention that had been transformed for a moment into a frenzied locker room.
