Harris continues to harness star power as she focuses on battleground states
Election day is little more than a week away in the US.
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will criss-cross the United States to visit all seven battleground states in the coming days, part of a final blitz before the US presidential election on November 5.
Ms Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, was spending Sunday in Philadelphia, attending church services in the morning and visiting a barbershop.
She told the congregation at Philadelphia’s Church of Christian Compassion that the United States is “determined to turn the page on hatred and division”.
Ms Harris drew on the story of the Apostle Paul, who overcome difficulties to spread the word of Jesus.
“In hard times when we may grow weary in doing good, we must remember the power that works within us, the divine power that transformed Paul’s life, guided him through shipwreck and sustained him through trials,” Ms Harris said.
Ms Harris then went to Philly Cutz, a barber’s shop in West Philadelphia, where she spoke to black men about improving racial representation in education. A poster of Barack Obama, the first black president, was on the wall.
She also visited Hakim’s Bookstore, which specialises in African American history.
“It’s beautiful. It’s just so beautiful,” she said and asked to see good books for six and eight-year-old children, the same ages as her nieces.
Speaking at a city recreation centre, the Democratic vice president singled out young voters, praising them for being “rightly impatient for change”, and told the audience that “there is too much at stake” in the campaign.
“We must not wake up the day after the election and have any regret about what we could have done in these next nine days,” Ms Harris said.
Mark Ruffalo and Don Cheadle, two actors who starred in Marvel’s Avengers movies, were at the rally. Ms Harris reminded the crowd that Pennsylvania’s deadline for early voting is Tuesday, telling them to “get it done tomorrow if you can”.
She has tried to keep the focus on abortion rights in the closing stretch of the campaign, including during appearances with Beyonce and Michelle Obama.
In an interview with CBS News that aired on Sunday, Ms Harris declined to say whether she would support any restrictions on abortion, emphasising the need to restore Roe v Wade.
“It is that basic,” she said.
The nationwide right to abortion was overturned two years ago by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court that included three justices nominated by Donald Trump while president.
“My first priority is to put back in place those protections and to stop this pain and to stop this injustice that is happening around our country,” Ms Harris said.
She also brushed off Mr Trump’s claim that he would not sign a national abortion ban if elected. “He says everything, come on,” Ms Harris said. “Are we really taking his word for it?”
On Monday, Mr Walz, the Minnesota governor who is Ms Harris’s running mate, will campaign in Manitowoc and Waukesha, Wisconsin, before joining Ms Harris for a rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the singer Maggie Rogers is scheduled to perform.
As well as Beyonce, Ms Harris has already had the likes of Eminem and Bruce Springsteen appear at her campaign events, as she harnesses star power in her bid for the White House.
Ms Harris will be in the nation’s capital on Tuesday to deliver what her campaign calls her “closing argument” in a speech from the Ellipse, a grassy space adjacent to the National Mall. It is the same place where then-president Donald Trump spoke on January 6, 2021, when the Republican called on his supporters to march on the Capitol.
Mr Walz is scheduled to campaign on Tuesday in Savannah and Columbus in Georgia.
Ms Harris plans to visit North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin on Wednesday. The event in Madison, Wisconsin, is expected to feature musical performances by Mumford & Sons and others.
Mr Walz will be in Charlotte and Asheville, North Carolina, that day.
On Thursday, Ms Harris will be in Nevada for rallies in Reno and Las Vegas, and in Phoenix. The band Mana will perform in Las Vegas and Los Tigres del Norte will perform in Phoenix.
Mr Walz plans to campaign in Harrisburg and Erie, Pennsylvania, and Detroit.
