Harris and Trump make last push to reach voters in final hours of voting

With only hours left for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump to reach voters, the candidates are crossing crucial states that could decide the election. More than 80 million Americans have already cast ballots and there are new signs of momentum for the vice president. But neither side is taking anything for granted in the waning hours of this unprecedented election cycle. Laura Barrón-López reports.
Amna Nawaz:
Welcome to the “News Hour” on this election eve.
With only hours left for Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump to reach voters, the candidates are crisscrossing crucial swing states tonight that could decide the election.
Geoff Bennett:
More than 80 million Americans have already cast their ballots in this year’s election. And, tonight, there are new signs of momentum for Vice President Kamala Harris. But neither side is taking anything for granted in the waning hours of this unprecedented election cycle.
Our coverage tonight begins with Laura Barron-Lopez.
Laura Barron-Lopez:
In a mad dash to the finish, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump rallying their supporters tonight to get out and vote.
Donald Trump, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: Here’s my only purpose in even being here today. Get out and vote. You know that.
Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate: Are we ready to do this?
(Cheering)
Kamala Harris:
We’re ready to get out the vote?
(Cheering)
Kamala Harris:
We’re ready to win?
(Cheering)
Laura Barron-Lopez:
Trying to convince any remaining undecided voters to come to their side. Most national polls show the race in a dead heat, but there are some signs that voters may be opting for Harris.
The latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll shows Harris up four points against Trump among likely voters nationally. It’s the first time she’s shown a lead greater than the margin of error. Harris even appears to have a slight lead in decidedly red Iowa.
The final Des Moines Register-Mediacom poll shows Harris ahead by three points among Iowa voters.
Kamala Harris:
Momentum is on our side. Momentum is on our side.
(Cheering)
Kamala Harris:
Can you feel it? We have momentum, right?
(Cheering)
Donald Trump:
You know, they have an expression. I hate the expression, actually, but it’s ours to lose.
Laura Barron-Lopez:
Both campaigns are engaging in an all-out battleground blitz today, former President Trump fanning out across three states with two stops in Pennsylvania.
But Vice President Harris is holding every single one of her five final events in the Keystone State, the biggest Electoral College prize of the swing states.
Kamala Harris:
We need everyone in Pennsylvania to vote, because you are going to make the difference in this election.
(Cheering)
Kamala Harris:
You will. So here’s how I think about things. We are all here together because we love our country. And when you love something, you fight for it.
(Cheering)
Laura Barron-Lopez:
Trump and Vance were also out today in North Carolina and Wisconsin.
Donald Trump:
I’d like to begin by asking a very simple question. Are you better off now than you were four years ago?
AUDIENCE:
No!
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Vice Presidential Candidate: You don’t have to agree with everything that I say, every policy proposal that we have. You don’t have to agree with everything that Donald J. Trump says. But what we know is that, when Donald Trump was president, you could afford to pay your bills.
Laura Barron-Lopez:
It builds on a weekend of campaigning by both candidates at breakneck pace, including media appearances.
Vice President Harris popped in for a lighthearted surprise on “Saturday Night Live.”
Maya Rudolph, Actress:
Now, Kamala, take my palmala.
(Laughter)
Maya Rudolph:
The American people want to stop the chaos…
Kamala Harris:
… and end the dramala.
Laura Barron-Lopez:
For equal airtime, NBC played a 90-second special message from Trump during two major Sunday sporting events, a NASCAR race and “Sunday Night Football.”
At a Sunday rally while surrounded by bulletproof glass, Trump made menacing remarks toward the press.
Donald Trump:
And I have this piece of glass here. But all we have really over here is the fake news, right?
(Cheering)
Donald Trump:
And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don’t mind that so much.
Laura Barron-Lopez:
Trump’s campaign tried to defend the remark, claiming that the former president, who regularly calls reporters the enemy of the people, was actually looking out for the press.
And despite running well behind Harris with women voters, Trump laughed when a supporter of his compared the vice president to a sex worker.
Donald Trump:
She’s a significant liar. And when you lie about something so simple, so she never worked there.
Woman:
She worked on a corner!
Donald Trump:
But I did — I did a little bit.
(Laughter)
Laura Barron-Lopez:
This weekend, Trump also appeared to endorse a proposal to remove fluoride from public water utilities, an idea floated by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who frequently spreads public health conspiracy theories.
In the final stretch, Trump has repeatedly said he will put Kennedy in charge of health policy if he wins.
Donald Trump:
We have a mess in our hands. We got a bunch of cheaters. That all they do is think about how they can cheat.
Laura Barron-Lopez:
And as Trump lays the groundwork to call the election stolen with baseless claims of cheating, Harris is warning voters that Trump may prematurely claim victory Tuesday night, like he did in 2020.
Kamala Harris:
I would ask, in particular people who have not yet voted, to not fall for his tactic.
Laura Barron-Lopez:
The former president wraps up tonight with a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the same city where he ended both his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. And Harris will hold a star-studied event from the Rocky Balboa Steps in Philadelphia.