With two days left before polls open Tuesday, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her Republican party rival Donald Trump make their closing arguments Sunday to persuade last-minute undecided voters and rally their bases to turn out on election day.
Cleveland Cavaliers basketball star Lebron James will campaign with Clinton Sunday in Cleveland, Ohio, a must-win battleground state she would like to take from Trump, who leads the state in pre-election polling. The NBA superstar, who came out in support of Clinton last month, said he has cast his ballot.
“I know who I’m for, who I’m endorsing and everyone has the right to do what they want to do,” James said Saturday before playing against NBA rival the Philadelphia 76ers. He said he hopes everyone understands how important this election is.
Clinton will also visit New Hampshire Sunday.
Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, speaks during a campaign rally, Nov. 5, 2016, in Denver.
Trump on 5-state swing
Trump has a busier schedule Sunday, visiting locations that have traditionally voted for Democrats. The Republican standard-bearer is making stops in Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Trump has been painting a dark picture of what the country will look like with his opponent at the helm, while Clinton continues to tell voters they are stronger together.
“If she were to win this election,” Trump told a rally in Reno, Nevada, “it would create an unprecedented constitutional crisis. In that situation, we could very well, have a sitting president under felony indictment and ultimately a criminal trial. It would grind government to a halt, of course, this is what we have right now under Obama.”
Trump was referring to the email controversy that has dogged Clinton throughout her presidential run. The FBI recently announced the agency has discovered thousands of emails from Clinton’s time as secretary of state on the computer of Anthony Weiner, the husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abeddin.
Trump appeared in North Carolina, Florida, Colorado and Nevada Saturday.
Secret Service agents rush Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump off the stage at a campaign rally in Reno, Nev., Nov. 5, 2016.
In his rally in Reno, Trump was briefly rushed off the stage by Secret Service agents after an apparent gun scare. He had been speaking to supporters when a disturbance broke out in the crowd near the podium. A man was escorted out of the venue shortly afterward. Trump reappeared on stage minutes later to continue the rally.
The Secret Service later said in a statement that the incident began when someone shouted “gun,” but no weapon was found on the suspect they escorted away or in the surrounding area, according to Reuters.
In a statement, Trump thanked the Secret Service, Reno and Nevada law enforcement for their “fast and professional response.”
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton waves as she cuts her speech short because of heavy rain at a rally at C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines, Fla., Nov. 5, 2016.
Clinton rallies Florida
Clinton spent time Saturday morning in Florida, which has traditionally been an important state in deciding the presidential election. In 2000, Florida’s vote count was so close it was eventually decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which handed the victory to Republican George W. Bush over Democratic Vice President Al Gore.
Clinton appeared at a rally in Miami, where she was introduced by Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin. Martin, a black teenager, was shot and killed in 2012 by a white neighbor who said he was acting in self-defense. The case has mobilized a growing faction of people calling for criminal justice reform.
“I don’t think I need to tell you all of the wrong things about Donald Trump,” she said as rain poured down. “But here’s what I want you to remember: I want to be the president for everybody. Everybody who agrees with me, and people who don’t agree with me. People who vote for me! People who don’t vote for me!”
Katy Perry holds hands with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during a concert at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Nov. 5, 2016, in Philadelphia.
Later in the day, at a Katy Perry concert Saturday in Philadelphia, Clinton noted that 37.5 million people have voted in the early polls.
“I believe they are standing up for a hopeful, inclusive vision of America,” Clinton said.
Race is tight
With just two days of campaigning left before most Americans cast their ballots, polls show a tightening race between Clinton and Trump. The RealClear Politics poll average shows Clinton slightly ahead with 46.6 percent of the vote, compared to 44.8 percent for Trump.
The latest Washington Post-ABC Tracking Poll released early Sunday shows Clinton holding a 5-percentage-point lead over Trump. In the Post-ABC poll released Friday, Clinton led Trump by 47 percent to 44 percent.
Her lead in several key battleground states has also narrowed, following a revelation a week ago that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was looking into more emails as part of its probe into her handling of classified information while she served as secretary of state.
– VOA
