ATLANTA/PHILADELPHIA:
Democrat Kamala Harris will celebrate her 60th birthday on Sunday with two visits to a church in Georgia, where she plans to rally early voters, while her Republican rival Donald Trump spends time at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
Harris and Trump, who are essentially tied in the presidential race in the most competitive states, have stepped up their attacks in recent days as they drum up support for early mail-in or in-person voting with just 16 days left until the Nov. 5 election.
After being joined by hometown rapper Lizzo on Saturday in Detroit and pop icon Usher in Atlanta, Harris will get a birthday boost from another music legend, Stevie Wonder, on Sunday when he stops by one of the churches she plans to visit.
Vice President Harris and former President Trump, 78, are focusing on Pennsylvania, Michigan and a handful of other likely swing states where both parties have strong support and the results have been close in past cycles.
Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz, will redouble their efforts Sunday in a “Souls to the Ballots” initiative aimed at using gospel acts, national and state religious leaders, elected officials and others to mobilize voters.
Harris, who was raised in the teachings of the Black Church and sings in the church choir, will attend a service and speak at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, about 30 miles (50 km) east of Atlanta, the campaign said.
She will also speak at Divine Faith Ministries International in Jonesboro, south of Atlanta, where she plans to encourage worshipers to exercise their right to vote. Wonder will be in attendance and is scheduled to perform.
After her events, Harris will tape an interview with civil rights leader Al Sharpton that will air Sunday night on MSNBC.
Waltz will attend a service in Saginaw, Michigan, while his wife, Gwen Waltz, will attend a church in Las Vegas.
Harris will need strong showings in the largely non-white cities of Detroit and Atlanta and their surrounding suburbs to repeat President Joe Biden’s 2020 victories in Michigan and Georgia.
Trump, after escalating personal attacks on Harris on Saturday, told Breitbart News that he would be working at a McDonald’s restaurant in Pennsylvania on Sunday “just for fun” to mock Harris. Trump adviser Jason Miller said Trump will work in the restaurant’s French fries area.
Harris says she worked at McDonald’s when she was young, but Trump says he doesn’t believe her.
Trump also plans a rally in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the late afternoon.
The former president is seeking to capitalize on what he says is an improved position for him in opinion polls that show deadlock. Some voters already have mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, the biggest Election Day prize among the battleground states.
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published by a syndicated channel.)
