Trump criticizes media in Pennsylvania as Harris explodes in Michigan | 2024 US Election News

Republican President Donald Trump gave an insulting and conspiracy-filled speech two days before the presidential election, as his Democratic rival Kamala Harris spoke at an old black church in Michigan.

Opinion polls show the two are locked in a tight race, with Vice President Harris, 60, bolstered by strong support from female voters while former President Trump, 78, is gaining strength among Hispanic voters, especially men.

In remarks Sunday that were not typical of his usual campaign closing remarks, Trump addressed the shooting of reporters and suggested he “shouldn't have left” the White House after his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden.

The former president has rekindled old grievances about prosecution after trying to overturn his defeat four years ago.

Trump stepped up his verbal attacks on the “grossly incompetent” national leadership and American media, directing his Pennsylvania rally at one point to the topic of violence against members of the media.

In a tense 90-minute speech two days before Tuesday's US presidential election, Trump noted the gaps in the glasses around him.

The former president survived two assassination attempts this year, including being shot in the ear by a gunman during a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Looking at these posts, Trump said: “To get me, someone is going to have to shoot for fake news and I don't care about that.”

Unfettered speech

His speeches do not hold in the last weeks of this campaign.

Arizona's attorney general on Friday opened an investigation after Trump suggested that prominent Republican critic and former congresswoman Liz Cheney should face guns in a fight.

He said Cheney would not be willing to support foreign wars if he had “nine barrels of fire at him”.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung released a statement after the press conference on Sunday, saying that Trump is committed to the safety of the media.

“The president's statement about the installation of protective glasses has nothing to do with harming the media or anything else. It was about threats against him that were fueled by dangerous rhetoric from Democrats,” the statement said.

Trump spent much of his speech attacking the media at the rally, at one point speaking to television cameras saying, “ABC, it's ABC, fake news, CBS, ABC, NBC. These, in my opinion, are the most corrupt people.”

Harris in Michigan

The president of the Democratic Alliance, Kamala Harris, on the other hand, told the church in Michigan on Sunday that God is giving America “a divine plan strong enough to end division”.

The two candidates struck very different tones in the campaign near the end, with Harris saying voters could reject “chaos, fear and hate”.

He focused on Michigan, starting the day with a few hundred people at Detroit's Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ. It was the fourth Sunday in a row that Harris, who is a Baptist, spoke to the Black church, showing how important black voters are in many battleground states.

“I see faith working in remarkable ways,” he said, quoting the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. “I see the nation is determined to turn the page of hatred and division and pave a new way forward. As I travel, I see Americans from so-called red states and so-called blue states who are ready to bend history for justice.”

He didn't mention Trump, though he's sure to return to his usual bandwagon speech at bus stops later on Sunday. But Harris told his friendly audience that “there are those who want to deepen division, sow hatred, spread fear and foment chaos.”

Elections and “this time in our nation,” he continued, “must be more than party politics.” It has to be about the good work we can do together.”

After his appearance in Detroit, Harris would head to East Lansing, Michigan, a college town in an industrial area that is considered a Democratic favorite.

Trump was scheduled to speak in Kinston, North Carolina, before ending his day with an evening rally in Macon, Georgia.

Of the seven US states considered competitive, Georgia and North Carolina are the second-biggest prizes up for grabs on Tuesday, each holding 16 of the 270 votes a candidate needs to win in the state-by-state Electoral College to secure the presidency. Pennsylvania starts with 19 electors.