Washington [US], August 15: At around 4 p.m. on August 14 (3 a.m. on August 15, Vietnam time) in Asheville, North Carolina, former US President Donald Trump is scheduled to deliver a speech attacking the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on the economy. Trump's campaign said that in that speech, Trump will point out "economic difficulties caused by the Harris - Biden administration," according to AFP.
Asheville is part of a series of campaign stops that Trump is planning to make on a specific theme. On August 17, Trump will travel to Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, where he is expected to deliver a speech focused on consumer prices, crime and immigration.
Former President Trump said last week that he had no plans to hold campaign events in battleground states until after the Democratic National Convention next week. However, Republicans have been pressing Trump to do more to show he can catch up with Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, after the pair drew huge crowds to their events, according to AFP.
Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said on August 13 that if they want to win the November election, the Republican Party needs to "make a serious change" and focus on voter groups that they can win over Ms. Harris in the polls, according to The Hill . Ms. Haley also said that Mr. Trump should stop discussing frivolous issues, such as comparing crowd sizes, and focus on policy issues to attract voters.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump's campaign has made significant changes in the past two weeks, helping to narrow the advertising spending gap with Ms. Harris's campaign. NBC News on August 14 pointed out that Mr. Trump's campaign spent a total of $13 million in six battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, compared to $16.5 million spent by Ms. Harris's campaign. Previously, from June 3 to July 28, Mr. Trump's campaign spent less than $230,000 on advertising in six battleground states, while Ms. Harris's campaign was shifted by Mr. Biden to spend nearly $65 million.
Harris's Keynote Address
Since President Biden announced on the evening of July 21 that he would suspend his re-election bid and endorse Ms. Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee , Ms. Harris has received a lot of support and surpassed Mr. Trump in some polls. Many Americans believe Ms. Harris can handle the economy better than Mr. Trump, with support rates of 42% and 41% respectively, according to a poll by the University of Michigan. This is the first major poll related to the election to show that the Republican Party is lagging on economic issues, according to AFP.
Harris is scheduled to deliver her first policy-focused speech as a presidential candidate on August 16 in Raleigh, North Carolina . In Raleigh, Harris's campaign said, she will outline her plans to reduce costs for middle-class families and tackle corporate price gouging. The speech will be closely watched to see how Harris's style and policies differ from Biden's.
Harris has previously said she supports eliminating the tip tax, a stance similar to Trump's. She will host a White House event with Biden on August 15 that is expected to focus on health care costs, according to Reuters.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper