Kamala Harris and Donald Trump return to the campaign trail on Thursday, with Democrats hoping their impressive performance in their first presidential debate will boost their chances in the US election.
The rivals are heading to crucial battleground states that will decide the November vote, two days after Harris forced Republican Trump on the defensive in a fiery clash that was watched by 67 million viewers across the United States.
But it remains unclear whether the vice president’s impressive performance will mark the turning point in a painfully tight race that will be decided in less than two months by a handful of undecided voters across the country.
Harris, 59, will leave for North Carolina on Thursday to try to capitalize on her momentum heading into the debate. She will hold back-to-back rallies in the cities of Charlotte and Greensboro, promising a “new way forward.”
Harris has erased Trump’s six-point lead over the past month and tied it in North Carolina, where she is aiming to turn out crucial Black and young voters to support her in her bid to become America’s first female commander in chief.
According to media reports, the way Harris managed to outwit him in the debate has caused an uproar in his camp. The 78-year-old former president will take the stage in Tucson, Arizona, to focus on “our struggling economy”.
Arizona was one of the most hotly contested states in the 2020 election, with Joe Biden winning by about 10,000 votes against Trump, and it is likely to be a close contest this time around as well.
His return to key states at the heart of the election came a day after a brief truce was agreed when he attended an event in New York on Wednesday marking the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
‘Missed opportunity’
The debate in Philadelphia was a welcome boost for Harris, as her honeymoon appeared to be over after she was abruptly replaced by the aging Biden as the Democratic nominee.
Trump insisted it was one of his best debates, but quick polls and even allies disagreed as Harris outraised him with taunts about the size of the crowd and his loss in the 2020 election, then scored points on issues like abortion.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, later told reporters it was a “lost opportunity”, while US media reported there was discontent among Trump’s donors.
But even though Harris has eliminated Trump’s lead in polls, the two candidates are neck-and-neck and she is said to be the weaker contender in the race for the White House.
However, America’s highly polarised politics means that big showpiece events such as debates rarely have much of an impact on elections – even a disastrous debate against Trump which caused Biden to abandon his re-election bid.
Both candidates will continue to storm the polls in the coming days, knowing that a few thousand undecided votes in the northeastern “Rust Belt” and the fast-growing southern “Sun Belt” could decide everything.
Harris will return to Pennsylvania on Friday for campaign events in Johnstown and Wilkes-Barre, one of the most crucial and hard-fought states in Pennsylvania. She will then attend an awards dinner with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff on Saturday.
Trump will comment on the cost of living in Las Vegas on Friday while he targets Nevada, another crucial swing state. He is also scheduled to hold a press conference in Los Angeles.
Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, will travel to Michigan and Wisconsin from Thursday through Saturday as part of the campaign’s New Way Forward swing state tour.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)