Harris, Trump up the ante, dealing key issues in swing states

Donald Trump, the former U.S. president and current Republican presidential candidate, used a rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday to push for a forceful police response to crime in the United States. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, emphasized the need for comprehensive immigration reform at a separate event in Nevada.

Trump, speaking in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state for the upcoming November 5 presidential election, reiterated his belief that America is under siege by violent criminals, many of whom, he claimed, are immigrants. He painted a bleak picture of a nation overwhelmed by crime, invoking racially charged rhetoric that has become a hallmark of his campaign.

Citing widely publicized incidents of daytime thefts in major U.S. cities, Trump called for police to take a more aggressive stance, receiving enthusiastic applause from the crowd. “Criminals have to be taught,” Trump said. “One rough hour — and I mean real rough — the word would get out and it would end immediately.”

He accused the “liberal left” of preventing law enforcement from doing their jobs, further stoking his supporters’ discontent with current crime levels.

On Saturday, Trump delivered a similar message in Wisconsin, another critical swing state, where he spoke about the dangers of what he called a “massive invasion” of the United States by criminal migrants.

Harris, speaking later in the day at a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, focused on her usual campaign topics: the economy, health care, and immigration reform. She also took aim at Trump’s track record on immigration, stating, “We know Donald Trump won’t solve them. When he was president, he did nothing to fix our immigration system.” She called for doubling resources for the Department of Justice to tackle transnational criminal organizations but did not offer specific plans for broader immigration reform.

Despite Trump’s grim portrayal of America’s crime problem, FBI data shows that crime, including violent offenses such as murder, has been in decline nationwide. The former president’s hardline stance on immigration and crime remains central to his appeal in certain economically struggling areas of the country.

Throughout his speech, Trump insulted Harris, referring to her as “mentally impaired” — an attack he had also made the previous day in Wisconsin. “Crooked Joe Biden became mentally impaired. Sad. But lying Kamala Harris, honestly, I believe she was born that way,” he said, drawing laughter from his audience.

Harris did not directly respond to Trump’s comments during her rally in Nevada, instead focusing on expanding access to abortion services and supporting economic policies aimed at helping middle- and lower-income Americans.

“When Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law,” she told the crowd.

As the race for the White House intensifies, Pennsylvania and Nevada are likely to play pivotal roles in determining the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, with both candidates sharpening their messages in these crucial battleground states