With less than two weeks until Election Day, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris remain locked in a tight race in Georgia, with Trump slightly ahead, according to the latest AJC polling. Both candidates and their top surrogates continue to visit the state to try to find and win over every last voter possible.
After Trump rallied supporters in Middle Georgia and Gwinnett County on Wednesday, Harris returned Thursday for her own rally in metro Atlanta with former President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen.
Vice President Kamala Harris has left the building.
After a star-studded night that included rousing speeches and celebrity appearances, Harris gave her closing argument to a cheering, chanting crowd of about 20,000 at James R. Hallford Stadium in Clarkston.
With that, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wraps up its live coverage for the day. Be sure to keep up with the latest in the presidential election on ajc.com as we steam toward Nov. 5.
Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a stark warning to Georgia voters with less than two weeks left until Election Day Thursday, saying that former President Donald Trump “has become more confused, more unstable and more angry.”
“This is not 2016 and this is not 2020,” Harris said.
She pointed to remarks from retired Gen. John Kelly, who served as Trump’s White House chief of staff and recently told the New York Times he views the former president as a fascist.
The reality in January “will either be him stewing over his enemies list or me checking off my to-do list.”
Kamala Harris' campaign has largely focused on moving forward, highlighting how her presidency would allow for a new generation of leaders. She noted an "overwhelming call" for fresh leadership throughout her campaign cycle.
"We are going to win because we together are fighting for the future," Harris said. "We have an opportunity before us to turn the page on the fear and divisiveness that have characterized our politics for a decade because of Donald Trump."
Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage in Clarkston, Georgia, Thursday night with just 12 days left to go until Election Day in this crucial battleground state.
Harris first acknowledged, “We’ve got a close race,” and then told the crowd about the choice in the election.
“His vision is focused on the past and himself, the other is focused on the future and you.”
Harris committed to bringing down the cost of living, particularly the cost of housing and health care. And she said she would restore abortion rights for women in America.
“We are not going back!” she said.
Roughly 20,000 supporters packed Vice President Kamala Harris’ star-studded rally in Clarkston, according to campaign officials.
That would make it the Democratic nominee’s biggest event in Georgia this cycle.
It evoked memories of the last major political rally at the DeKalb County stadium. That was an event for Bill Clinton during his 1992 campaign.
Former President Barack Obama addressed the spread of misinformation during the campaign cycle, particularly calling out Donald Trump's false claims that FEMA diverted disaster relief funds to assist undocumented migrants.
He recounted his childhood when he was taught the difference between right and wrong, and was showed what it meant to be honest and treat others with respect. He used these values to highlight the contrast with Trump's behavior.
"One of the most disturbing things about this election and about Trump's rise in politics is how we seem to have set the values we were taught aside," Obama said.
This time, there was no stern lecture from Barack Obama to Black men wary of backing Vice President Kamala Harris. Instead, the former president took a different approach. Instead of suggesting Black men who are on the sidelines in this race might be mysogonists, as he did at a Pennsylvania rally last week, Obama urged those voters not to buy into Donald Trump’s message of hypermasculinity.
“I am here to tell you that is not what real strength is. It never has been. Real strength is about working hard … and standing up for those who can’t always stand up for themselves.”
Beware of former President Donald Trump’s sweeping promises for quick fixes to the economy, racism or other solutions to long-standing issues, former President Barack Obama said.
“Those problems are hard,” said the two-term Democrat. “It takes steps. A little bit of time. But your vote matters because that little bit of time, that incremental improvement, it adds up.”
Don’t take Donald Trump’s boasts of a thriving economy during his term in office too seriously. That was the message from former President Barack Obama.
At a rally of thousands of voters, Obama said he bristles when voters tell him how strong the job market was during Trump’s first years in office.
“The economy was good because it was my economy. I had spent eight years cleaning up the mess that the Republicans have left me,” he said.
Obama added that Trump proceeded “to give tax cuts to those who didn’t need it and drove up the deficit.”
Former President Barack Obama stated that the recent remarks from Donald Trump’s longest-serving aide provide voters with a “window” into Trump’s mindset.
He was referring to John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general who was Trump’s chief of staff. Kelly told several outlets that Trump once praised Hitler and fit the definition of a “fascist” while in office.
Obama said Kelly and other former Trump aides are speaking up because Trump “thinks the military is there to do his bidding, to serve his interests.” And he worries that if Trump is elected he will surround himself with those “just as loony” as Trump.