US presidential hopefuls Harris, Trump deploy celebrity power in must-win states

DETROIT - US presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will roll out starkly contrasting celebrity back-up this weekend in Pennsylvania and Michigan – among the most prized battleground states that could decide the tightest of presidential races.

Pop star Lizzo will throw multi-Grammy award-winning glitter behind Vice-President Harris’ campaign in Detroit in Michigan, while the world’s richest man Elon Musk is to stump for former president Trump in Pennsylvania.

Ms Harris will also be joined by R&B star Usher at a get-out-the-vote rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Oct 20.

Both candidates are fighting on every front to seal up voters’ support in a race that polls suggest is effectively tied with fewer than three weeks to election day.

Mr Musk, who endorsed Trump in July, is one of US President Joe Biden administration’s fiercest critics and has emerged as a loud voice in US politics since taking over Twitter, now known as X.

The chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX has taken an increasingly visible role in the Trump campaign and has donated almost US$75 million (S$98 million) to his political organisation America PAC.

Ms Harris has deployed high-wattage surrogates, from former president Barack Obama to pop star Megan Thee Stallion since replacing Mr Biden as the Democratic nominee in July.

Early voting under way

Seeking to shift the polls in a desperately tight White House race, Ms Harris has ramped up attacks on the mental fitness of the 78-year-old Trump, who is the oldest presidential candidate in US history.

She questioned his ability to be president after Trump faced speculation that he is “exhausted” after backing out of a spate of interviews.

Politico reported that a Trump aide had told producers at a website negotiating an interview that the former president was “exhausted” and refusing some appearances – a claim described by his campaign as “detached from reality”.

Beyond the accusations, both candidates are spending their final campaign days in pivotal battleground states where early voting is already under way.

With less than three weeks to go, Ms Harris has seen encouraging signs in her push for supporters to vote as soon as possible, as a bulwark against the traditional Republican edge among election day voters.

Nearly 12 million votes had been cast by the evening of Oct 18 – around a third of them in the seven swing states expected to decide the election – according to data tracked by the University of Florida Election Lab.

Georgia has been smashing records, while North Carolina reported a first day of voting on Oct 17 that beat 2020, when there was a pandemic-linked surge in early ballots.

Where party breakdowns were available, registered Democrats accounted for roughly half of the total, while Republicans – who have spent much of the Trump era casting aspersions over drop boxes and mailed ballots – were responsible for around a third. AFP