‘The end of a journey’: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris hold final rallies on election eve
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are holding their final rallies to win over voters ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election.
The Republican candidate began his last day of electioneering on Monday with an event in Raleigh, North Carolina, in which he described the campaign’s conclusion as the “end of a journey”
However, Mr Trump added a new one would soon begin “where we make America great again”.
The former president continued to take a swipe at his rival Ms Harris, claiming she would “open the borders” if she became president.
Mr Trump also claimed he had been campaigning for 62 days in a row, adding: “I could be at the most beautiful beaches in the world right now, but I’m here because I’d rather be with you people.”
He also praised key backer and businessman Elon Musk, who has thrown his support behind Mr Trump on the campaign trail, describing him as an “amazing guy”.
Donald Trump arrives at his rally in Raleigh. Pic: AP
Mr Trump is also planning to hold rallies in Pennsylvania and Michigan later.
Meanwhile, the vice president is spending all of Monday in Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state that is expected to play a big part in the outcome of Tuesday’s contest, with 19 Electoral College votes up for grabs.
Ms Harris‘s rally in Philadelphia is expected to include appearances from the likes of Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey.
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Earlier, in an interview with NBC, Mr Trump said there would be a “big role” for former presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr in his administration.
Mr Kennedy, a vaccine sceptic and the nephew of former US president John F Kennedy, withdrew as an independent candidate before he endorsed Mr Trump for the presidency.
RFK Jr endorsed Donald Trump during the campaign. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump also did not rule out banning certain vaccines as an option during his second term.
“Well, I’m going to talk to [Kennedy] and talk to other people, and I’ll make a decision, but he’s a very talented guy and has strong views,” he told NBC.
On Friday, Mr Kennedy said in a post on X that a Trump administration would push to ban fluoride in water on its first day in office, claiming it was “industrial waste” that leads to problems like cancer and other diseases.
Kamala Harris delivered a speech in Michigan on Sunday, a key swing state. Pic: AP
More than 77 million Americans have already cast their vote ahead of election week, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab. That’s almost half the 160 million votes returned in 2020.
But swing states, also known as battleground or toss-up states, hold disproportionate sway in presidential elections because they switch between voting Republican and Democrat.
That is why both candidates have focused their campaigning in the final days in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan and Nevada.
Ms Harris has now mostly stopped mentioning Mr Trump – instead she tried to focus on forward-looking themes.
At a rally in East Lansing, Michigan, on Sunday she spoke to some of the state’s Arab-Americans, and addressed concerns about US support for Israel.
“As president, I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza,” she said.
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Meanwhile, over the weekend Mr Trump repeated that he would bring about the “golden age of America” if elected, though he also reiterated his accusations of election fraud.
In Georgia, he depicted a second-term Trump administration: “We stand on the verge of the four greatest years in American history. It’ll be nasty a little bit at times, and maybe at the beginning in particular.” Mr Trump didn’t elaborate on what would be “nasty”.
Donald Trump has been campaigning in Georgia. Pic: Reuters
Polling is tight
The final poll of the election from NBC, Sky News’ US partner, found Ms Harris and Mr Trump tied at 49% although the margin of error is 3.1 points – a figure that creates a significant level of uncertainty about the result.
In Georgia, the race appears very tight. A recent poll by the New York Times puts Ms Harris ahead by one point. Other polls have Mr Trump narrowly leading.
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Meanwhile, election officials in Georgia are pushing back against claims from Mr Trump and his allies of “election interference” – which appear to be part of efforts to challenge the election if he loses.
Mr Trump has also rejected the findings of a shock survey in Iowa which suggested Ms Harris led him by three points in the state, calling it a “fake poll”.
Ms Harris is in a closely fought race for Michigan’s 15 Electoral College votes but is currently polling just ahead of Mr Trump in the battleground state.
Actor Robert De Niro on the campaign trial for Kamala Harris. Pic: Reuters
Stars turn out to support candidates
Hollywood actor Robert De Niro was out canvassing for the vice president this weekend in Pennsylvania – one of the key battleground states.
It is not the first time he has endorsed Ms Harris. In September, he was joined by fellow actor Steve Buscemi for a livestream to help raise funds for the Democrats.
Meanwhile, the vice president made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live, where she performed in a short skit alongside Maya Rudolph.
Mr Trump secured high-profile support from billionaire business mogul Elon Musk, who has spent at least $119m (£91.5m) mobilising supporters to back the Republican nominee.
On the night, Sky News will have access to the most comprehensive exit poll and vote-counting results from every state, county and demographic across America through its US-partner network NBC.
You can find out more about Sky News’ coverage here.
It’s 5.30am, but the car park outside a laundrette in south central Los Angeles is already bustling.
A woman is setting up a stand selling tacos on the pavement and the sun is beginning to rise behind the palm trees.
A group of seven women and two men are gathered in a circle, most wearing khaki green t-shirts.
The leader, a man named Francisco “Chavo” Romero, begins by asking how everyone is feeling. “Angry,” a few of them respond. “Proud of the community for pushing back,” says another.
Ron, a high school history teacher, issues a rallying cry. “This is like Vietnam,” he says. “We’re taking losses, but in the end we’re going to win. It’s a war.”
Francisco ‘Chavo’ Romero leads a volunteer group, attempting to warn people ahead of ICE raids
This is what the resistance against Donald Trump’s immigration policy looks like here. In the past month, immigration and customs enforcement agents – known as ICE – have intensified their raids on homes and workplaces across Los Angeles.
Since the beginning of June, nearly 2,800 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in the city, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The previous monthly high was just over 850 arrests in May this year.
Police use tear gas against protesters, angry at a recent immigration raid at a farm in Camarillo, California. Pic: AP
Videos have circulated online of people being tackled to the ground in the car park of DIY shops, in car washes and outside homes. The videos have prompted outrage, protests and a fightback.
“Chavo” and Ron belong to a group of organised volunteers called Union del Barrio. Every morning, a group of them meet, mostly in areas which have high immigrant populations.
The day I meet them, they’re in an area of LA which is heavily Latino. Armed with walkie talkies to communicate with each other, megaphones to warn the community and leaflets to raise awareness they set out in cars in different directions.
A volunteer from Union del Barrio shows Sky’s Martha Kelner how they try to stay one step ahead of ICE agents
They’re looking for cars used by ICE agents to monitor “targets”.
“That vehicle looks a little suspicious,” says Ron, pointing out a white SUV with blacked-out windows, “but there’s nobody in it”.
An elderly Latino man is standing on a street corner, cutting fruit to sell at his stall. “He’s the exact target that they’re looking for,” Ron says. “That’s what they’re doing now. The low-hanging fruit, the easy victim. And so that is proving to be more successful for their quotas.”
This man, selling fruit on a street corner in LA, is a potential target of immigration agents
In the end, it turns out to be a quiet morning in this part of LA, no brewing immigration operations. But elsewhere in the city, dawn raids are happening.
ICE agents are under pressure from the White House to boost their deportation numbers in line with Donald Trump’s campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration.
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In June, tear gas and rubber bullets were fired at protestors demonstrating against immigration raids
Maria’s husband Javier was one of those arrested in LA. He came to the United States from Mexico when he was 19 and is now 58.
The couple have three grown-up children and two grandchildren. But Javier’s work permit expired two years ago, according to Maria and so he was living here illegally.
Maria’s husband Javier was arrested after his work permit expired
She shows me a video taken last month when Javier was at work at a car wash in Pomona, an area of LA. He is being handcuffed and arrested by armed and masked ICE agents, forced into a car. He is now being held at a detention centre two hours away.
“I know they’re doing their job,” she says, “but it’s like, ‘you don’t have to do it like that.’ Getting them and, you know, forcing people and pushing them down on the ground. They’re not animals.”
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Maria wipes away tears as she explains the impact of his absence for the past four weeks. “It’s been so hard without him,” she says. “You feel alone when you get used to somebody and he’s not there any more. We’ve never been apart for as long as this.”
The family have a lawyer and is appealing for him to remain in the US, but Maria fears he will be sent back to Mexico or even a third country.
Maria fears her husband, who has lived in the US for nearly 40 years, will be sent back to Mexico
“I don’t know what to say to my grandkids because the oldest one, who is five was very attached to his papas, as he calls him. And he’s asking me, ‘When is papa coming home?’ and I don’t know what to say. He’s not a criminal.”
The fear in immigrant communities can be measured by the empty restaurant booths and streets that are far quieter than usual.
People in LA are being asked to report sightings of ICE officials so others can be warned
I meet Soledad at the Mexican restaurant she owns in Hollywood. When I arrive, she’s watching the local news on the TV as yet another raid unfolds at a nearby farm.
She’s shaking her head as ICE agents face off with protesters and military helicopters hover overhead. “I am scared. I am very scared,” she says.
All of her eight employees are undocumented, and four of them are too scared to come into work, she says, in case they get arrested. The process to get papers, she says, is too long and too expensive.
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Soledad, who owns a Mexican restaurant, plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive
“They call me and tell me they are too afraid to come in because immigration is around,” she says.
“I have to work double shifts to be able to make up for their hours, and yes, I am very desperate, and sometimes I cry… We have no sales, and no money to pay their wages.”
There is just one woman eating fajitas at a booth, where there would usually be a lunchtime rush. People are chilled by the raids.
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Soledad says she plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive.
“I’ve told them, get inside the fridge, hide behind the stove, climb up where we have a space to store boxes, do not run because they will hunt you down.”
The White House says they’re protecting the country from criminals. ICE agents have been shot at while carrying out operations, their work becoming more dangerous by the day.
The tension here is ratcheting up. Deportation numbers are rising too. But the order from Donald Trump is to arrest even more people living here illegally.
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