The current positions of US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump ahead of their first televised debates tomorrow, hosted by ABC Sea News is a major topic in the Western press today. The two walk side by side "after the summer cataclysms" in the latest sociological survey of the American "New York Times". Trump generally maintains the percentage of potential voters who support him, while many are not aware of what Harris's position is on a number of issues, the publication points out, writes BTA.
According to the British "Guardian" tomorrow's first televised duel between the current vice president and Democratic presidential candidate and the former president and Republican candidate could be the last between the two before the Nov. 5 election.
The study conducted by the "New York Times" and "Siena College", shows that Donald Trump retains his support and that in the run-up to the debate voters are not sure they know enough about Kamala Harris's positions. Trump and Harris are entering the final stages of their campaigns in a tight race, and with their only debate scheduled for tomorrow, Harris also faces a significant portion of potential voters who still say they need to know more about her, the publication notes.< /p>
Results from the national poll of likely voters showed Trump leading Harris 48 percent to 47 percent, a margin that was within the polls' 3 percentage point margin of error and largely unchanged from the poll conducted in the end of July, just after President Joe Biden gave up his candidacy for re-election, emphasized the "New York Times". Trump may have had a difficult month after Biden withdrew from the race amid the excitement Harris brought to the Democrats, but the poll shows his support remains remarkably stable, the American publication writes.
The national results are in line with polls in the seven contested states (Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona) that decide the outcome of the presidential election, in which Vice President Harris is tied with Trump in voting intentions or has a minimal lead according to the New York Times polling average. Taken together, they illustrate a tense race in which either candidate could win.
"The New York Times" notes that there are just over eight weeks left in the shortest presidential election in modern American history. Both candidates have little chance of changing electoral attitudes, but for Trump, opinions are largely fixed. However, Harris still remains unknown to many, according to the American newspaper.
In that sense, the study underscores the risks and potential benefits, especially for Harris, tomorrow night when she and Trump go head-to-head in an ABC News debate. The poll found that 28 percent of potential voters said they needed to know more about Harris, while only 9 percent said they needed to know more about Trump.
These voters, combined with the five percent of voters who said they were undecided or undecided about either candidate, paint the picture of an electorate that could be more -variable than it seems. Some of those considering supporting Harris said they still hope to learn more about her before fully committing to their choice, and two-thirds of those who want to know more about the vice president said they are looking forward to to learn more about her policies, writes "New York Times".
Another American newspaper - "Washington Post" draws attention to the income from various sources that Trump receives in the final weeks of his presidential campaign, noting that so far no US presidential candidate has linked his campaign so closely with personal for-profit enterprises, selling a variety of items from shoes and books to pieces of his costume.
Trump sent a message to voters that he will sell collectible cards with his image online for $99 each, writes the Washington Post.
"Fifty all-new stunning digital trading cards - this is really cool stuff,", Trump says in an ad. "These cards show me dancing and even holding a few bitcoins," he adds.
Trying to generate more funds, Trump says that if someone buys 15 or more digital cards, he will send them a physical one. Each card also comes with a special extra, he pointed out, "an authentic piece of my suit that I wore to the presidential debate." Five of the suit pieces will even be autographed, he promised. Those wishing to purchase 75 or more of the cards - worth a total of more than $7,425 - were invited to attend a gala dinner at Trump's Florida estate, the Washington Post reported.
Last Tuesday he published another proposal on his social platform "Trut Social" - selling a book of his photos for $99 without an autograph and $499 with his signature. "You must have this US history book," he wrote.
In both cases, the money did not go to his campaign, but to for-profit businesses from whose promotion he earns millions. No presidential candidate has ever tied his campaign so closely to personal for-profit ventures that sell a dizzying array of merchandise, including signed copies of the Bible for which he receives royalties, expensive sneakers, gold necklaces, digital trading cards, pens, books.
His company's website also sells various political merchandise at higher prices than his campaign is offering for the same items. Make America Great Again Hat (Make America Great Again), which sells for $55 on his company's website, costs $40 as part of his presidential campaign. A 91 by 152 cm flag purchased by his campaign costs $43, while the same size flag on the company's website costs $86, the Washington Post reported.
"It is unprecedented in history for someone to materialize in office or run for president the way he did," said Don Fox, former general counsel of the US Office of Government Ethics. "Washington Post" also notes that Trump's various money-making strategies, however, also contribute to the claim - which Democrats say is spreading among voters - that the former president is only interested in himself.
Another American publication - "Wall Street Journal", puts its emphasis on Trump's problems in the state of Michigan, where some of the Republican leaders there refuse to follow the campaign strategy on the ground.
Late last month, Brian Pannebacker was working out, lifting weights in his garage, when he learned that Donald Trump had just stopped by a nearby Macomb County campaign office to eat pizza with volunteers. He was furious that no one had invited him, the newspaper reported. Pannebacker, who founded a 1,400-strong group called Autoworkers for Trump and joined the president on stage at a recent rally in Grand Rapids, already felt some local campaign leaders were going about it the wrong way by alienating allies. like himself.
The British edition "Guardian" highlights Trump's remarks in which he threatens to jail his opponents for "unscrupulous behavior" if he wins the presidential election. His message also represents another threat to use the presidential institution to take revenge if he wins a second term in power.
Just days before his first - and possibly only - debate against Kamala Harris, Trump posted a warning on "Truth Social" in which he threatened to jail those "involved in unscrupulous behavior". in these elections, which, according to him, will be subject to intense control, the "Guardian" points out.
"When I win, these people who cheated will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, which will include long prison terms, so that this miscarriage of justice does not happen again," the former president wrote, again tried to cast doubt on the integrity of the November 2020 elections.
Trump's message represents another threat by him to use the presidency to exact revenge if he wins a second term in the Oval Office. There is no evidence of election fraud, which he continues to insist marred the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden. In fact, dozens of courts, Republican state officials and his own administration have said he lost fair and square, according to the Guardian.