Harris slams GOP production as she and Trump seek votes in final weekend of campaign

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump hit the road one last weekend mission to collect all possible votes in battleground states that will determine the next president.

Harris criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson on Saturday for suggesting Republicans might cut government subsidies for semiconductor manufacturing.

“It is my plan and my intention to continue to invest in American manufacturing,” the Democratic candidate told reporters in Milwaukee, adding that Trump had lost manufacturing jobs during his presidency.

Harris spoke before heading to campaign rallies in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina. After his late-night rally in Milwaukee, Trump was attending two rallies in North Carolina and one in Salem, Virginia, a non-battleground state.

“We stand on the threshold of the four greatest years in American history,” Trump said in a campaign statement before his first event in Gastonia, North Carolina.

President Joe Biden, who withdrew from the race after it became clear that he would not win this summer, was doing his part on behalf of the Democrats and was holding his 2024 election campaign for the last time in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

As the race drew to a close on Tuesday, a reporter in Milwaukee referred to Harris as “Mr. President,” prompting the vice president to warn of “three days.”

Johnson, R-La., later walked back his comments about cutting semiconductor subsidies, stating that Republicans only meant it. “ Streamline ” the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act. But Harris said Johnson only issued his follow-up statement because “their agenda is unpopular.”

The law poured billions of dollars into computer chip production in the United States and bolstered union employment in battleground states like Michigan.

Vice presidential candidates and big-name supporters were also in power.

Harris’ running mate Tim Walz and actress Eva Longoria were attending a voting event in Las Vegas before the Minnesota governor flew to Arizona for events in Flagstaff and Tucson. GOP vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance’s Donald Trump Jr. He was scheduled to be in Las Vegas and Scottsdale, Arizona for events with . First Lady Jill Biden was campaigning in Georgia and Hillary Clinton was appearing on stage in Tampa, Florida, to support Harris’ candidacy.

Trump and Harris planes were parked next to each other overnight at the Milwaukee airport, and the candidates spent the night in hotels just three blocks apart. Even before Harris left Milwaukee, her supporters were lined up for her rally in Atlanta.

After learning of the Atlanta rally on Friday, Marzella and Darrell Pittman canceled their weekend plans and made the four-hour drive from Alabama.

Marzella thinks Harris will win, but Darrell is nervous because many of the young Black men in her life support Trump and are hesitant to vote for a woman for president.

“It’s a tight situation, and on the other side, they got a lot of our people to believe in that side, just like we believed in Kamala,” he said.

Marzella Pittman said that leading up to the election, “we have nothing on our minds but voting, and we’re talking to everybody.”

“There’s so much at stake,” Darrell Pittman said, “and we can’t let this slip away.”

Carol Hicks, who was driving around with a stack of Harris signs in her backseat, said she was optimistic because she had “die-hard Republican colleagues” who voted for Harris because they couldn’t stomach voting for Trump. Some people in his life are hesitant because they don’t want to vote for a woman, but he tells them this: “Only weak men can’t stand a strong woman.

Trump supporters were equally passionate about their candidate.

Nick Chakur, 68, a retired police officer from Center Line, Mich., who attended a rally in nearby Warren Friday night, said he was cautiously optimistic about Trump’s chances but said it depends on voter turnout.

“Just like in sports, you have to keep going until the whistle blows,” he said.

Stephanie Tanzini, 77, attended the same rally wearing a dazzling denim American flag baseball cap.

Tanzini said he plans to stay up on election night waiting for the results “24/7”, enjoying chips, dip and pie as the results are announced, with a bowl of marshmallows in hand to celebrate.

“Because Trump will win this by a landslide,” he said.

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Colvin reported from Gastonia, North Carolina. Associated Press writers Chris Megerian in Washington, Charlotte Kramon in Atlanta and Isabella Volmert in Warren, Michigan, contributed to this report.

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