LAS VEGAS (AFP) – United States (US) Vice President Kamala Harris slammed Donald Trump for “very offensive” remarks about women as she pressed her case that his misogyny has no place in 21st Century America, just days ahead of a nail-biter election.
With each candidate seeking even the slightest of advantages, they took their knife-edge White House race to western battleground states, homing in on immigration and wooing Latinos five days before voting concludes on November 5.
In one of three stops in the West, Trump painted a dark picture of immigration run amok as he addressed supporters in border state New Mexico, saying migrants are “unleashing a violent killing spree all across America”.
There is no evidence of a migrant crime wave in the US. As the Democratic vice president and Republican former president chase one another through the seven swing states expected to decide the election, Harris is conveying a more upbeat message, with her final stop of the day at a star-studded rally in Las Vegas, where she was introduced by pop maven Jennifer Lopez.
Harris targeted Trump over his remarks when he told a Wednesday rally he wanted to “protect” American women “whether the women like it or not”.
She branded the comments “offensive to everybody”.
In Las Vegas, she slammed Trump as a man who “simply does not respect the freedom of women or the intelligence of women to be able to make decisions about their own lives”.
“And we know if he were elected, he would ban women’s reproductive rights, put IVF treatments at risk, and for states, listen to this, to monitor women’s pregnancies.”
Reproductive rights have served as a rallying cry for Democrats – and an Achilles’ heel of sorts for Trump – since the conservative-dominated US Supreme Court ended the federal right to it in 2022.
Polling for this year’s election shows a wide gender gap, with women voters tilting toward Harris, and Trump earning more support from men.
Trump’s three stops were characterised by his now-usual stream of insults, including against Democrats Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Harris.
“She destroyed our economy,” Trump said, referring to a period that, contrary to his criticism, is showing robust US growth, low unemployment and increasing consumer confidence, despite voter concerns about high prices.
In what was billed as an interview with right-wing provocateur Tucker Carlson, Trump got personal again, calling the vice president “a low IQ individual, dumb as a rock”.
