Harris, Trump battle for swing states after fierce debate
1. Vice president forces Republican Trump onto the defensive in a fiery clash that drew 67 million viewers
**WASHINGTON:** Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are back on the campaign trail Thursday, with Harris hoping her standout performance in their first presidential debate will boost her chances in the tight U.S. election.
The two rivals are heading to pivotal battleground states that will determine November’s outcome, just two days after Harris challenged Trump aggressively in a debate that drew 67 million viewers nationwide.
It remains to be seen whether the vice president’s dynamic performance will shift the race significantly with less than two months to go. The election is expected to hinge on a small number of undecided voters across the country.
Harris, 59, will try to leverage her debate momentum as she visits North Carolina on Thursday, where she will hold back-to-back rallies in Charlotte and Greensboro, promising a "new way forward."
Over the past month, Harris has erased Trump’s previous six-point lead in North Carolina and is now aiming to energize crucial Black and young voters in her bid to become the first female President of the United States.
Meanwhile, Trump, 78, is set to speak in Tucson, Arizona, focusing on "our struggling economy." His campaign has reportedly been in turmoil following Harris’s effective debate strategy. Arizona, a fiercely contested state in 2020, was narrowly won by Joe Biden and is expected to be hotly contested again.
Their return to the swing states follows a brief truce, as both attended Wednesday’s anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York.
