Harris makes pitch to US Steel workers; Biden knocks Netanyahu before Pennsylvania rally

PITTSBURGH - US Vice-President Kamala Harris will say US Steel should remain in domestic hands during a campaign rally she plans to hold with President Joe Biden on Sept 2, after an earlier meeting at the White House to discuss a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza.

This week marks the start of the

vital post-Labour Day sprint to the Nov 5 election,

and both Ms Harris and her Republican challenger, former president Donald Trump, are expected to ramp up outreach to voters, especially in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Nevada.

Ms Harris, who replaced Mr Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket after he withdrew following a poor June debate performance against Trump, will use her Labour Day remarks in Pittsburgh to underscore support for steel workers, a campaign aide said.

“The Vice-President is expected to say that US Steel should remain domestically owned and operated, and stress her commitment to always have the backs of American steel workers,” the aide said.

Ms Harris’ position mirrors that of Mr Biden, who said in March that US Steel, which has agreed to be bought by Japan’s Nippon Steel for US$14.9 billion (S$19.5 billion), must remain a domestically owned American firm.

Ms Harris and Mr Biden appeared together at the Democratic National Convention and at a White House-planned event on Medicare drug price cuts in August, but this will be their first joint appearance at a campaign rally since she became the party’s nominee.

Developments in the Middle East seemed to be overshadowing the event.

Over the weekend, Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza where it said they were recently killed by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, sparking sharp criticism of the Biden administration’s ceasefire strategy and new pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring the remaining hostages home.

Mr Biden told reporters on Sept 2 he did not think Mr Netanyahu was doing enough to secure a hostage deal.

The US government, including Mr Biden himself, has been trying to broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

Some 1,200 Israelis were killed in

Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct 7

and around 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Health authorities in Gaza say more than 40,000 people have been killed in the Israeli assault on the enclave that has displaced nearly its entire 2.3 million population, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.

The issue is weighing on the US election, with pro-Palestinian activists threatening to ramp up protests against Ms Harris on the campaign trail. Republicans, meanwhile, blame Mr Biden and Ms Harris for the hostage deaths.

Mr Biden and Ms Harris met the US hostage negotiation team on Sept 2 and discussed the next steps in efforts to free the remaining captives, the White House said.

Ms Harris also held an event in Detroit, Michigan, before she was due to join Mr Biden in Pennsylvania, one of the most important battleground states in this election cycle.

In Michigan in particular, which is home to a sizeable Arab American and Muslim American population, there have been protests against US support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Some activists say they will not vote for Ms Harris or Trump and have urged their supporters to vote for a third party, which could hurt Ms Harris.

Trump will participate in a Fox town hall on Sept 4 hosted by Mr Sean Hannity, and later this week will address the Fraternal Order of Police at their fall meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, and hold a rally in Wisconsin.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Ms Harris was leading in the race against Trump 45 per cent to 41 per cent.

Ms Harris and her running mate Tim Walz are hoping to keep up the enthusiasm her entry into the race has sparked among Democrats, who are donating record amounts of money to the campaign and volunteering by the tens of thousands.

The Harris campaign has focused on an upbeat, positive message about America’s future, cost-cutting plans aimed at the middle class, and attracting Republicans turned off by Trump.

Trump has sought to blame Ms Harris for continued high food prices and illegal immigration, but his policy criticism has often been overshadowed by his demeaning comments about her intelligence and heritage and his amplifying of crude internet memes. 

Ms Harris’ campaign appears to be outraising Trump’s. Last week, the Harris campaign told the Federal Election Commission that it raised US$204 million in July, compared with US$48 million reported to the body by Trump’s main fund-raising group. REUTERS