It's like being a famous baseball player or soccer player.
The Republican Donald Trump's argumentation about why new border guards should receive a bonus of 10,000 dollars when they sign an employment contract was met with cheers at the campaign meeting in Prescott, Arizona. The former president, who has once again made border security his signature issue, also promised to expand the border force with 10,000 agents and give them a 10 percent salary increase, reports The Washington Post.
Tight race
The election promise is likely to resonate with certain groups. Arizona, with its long border with Mexico, has been fighting against human smuggling and illegal immigration for decades.
However, over 30 percent of the inhabitants here identify as Spanish-speaking, so-called Hispanics. Many of them have relatives in Latin America and take offense at Trump's harsh rhetoric against immigration. The former president has, among other things, claimed that migrants "poison our country's blood" and that Mexicans are "drug dealers and criminals" – statements that have been dismissed as unacceptable and violent by both analysts and some party colleagues.
Despite these statements, polls show that Trump's popularity is increasing among Spanish-speaking people in both Arizona and the other swing state in the desert: Nevada. The reason is economics. Nevada, with the casino city of Las Vegas as its economic engine, was hard hit by the covid pandemic and its subsequent unemployment and inflation. Voters say they have higher confidence in Trump's ability to address this.
Wants a boost
But the fight between him and the Democrats' Kamala Harris is tight. In Nevada, Harris hopes that the union Unite Here's many affiliated hotel and restaurant workers will follow the union's recommendation and vote for her. Her election promise to raise the minimum wage has fallen on fertile ground here.
In Arizona, both Trump and Harris hope to get a boost from state referendums. The inhabitants will vote on a proposal to make illegal border crossing a state crime, not just a federal one, which could benefit Trump. But Arizonans will also vote on a proposal to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution, which is entirely in line with Harris' policy.
Donald Trump won Arizona in 2016. In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won the state, but with a margin of just 10,500 votes. Nevada has voted Democratic in both the last presidential elections.
Democrat Kamala Harris currently has the support of 48.4 percent of Americans, and Republican Donald Trump has the support of 48.5 percent, according to the political website Real Clear Politics' compilation of current polls.
The US electoral system, however, means that the election is decided in a few so-called swing states. This is how the candidates' support looks in these states.
The number of electoral votes in each swing state is in parentheses; to win the presidential election, a candidate needs the support of at least 270 electoral votes.
Pennsylvania (19): Trump: 48.1; Harris: 47.6
Georgia (16): Trump: 49.2; Harris: 46.9
North Carolina (16): Trump: 48.6; Harris: 47.8
Michigan (15): Trump: 47.9; Harris: 47.8
Arizona (11): Trump: 49.2; Harris: 47.7
Wisconsin (10): Trump: 48.1; Harris: 47.8
Nevada (6): Trump: 47.8; Harris: 47.1
The presidential election will be held on Tuesday, November 5.
Source: Real Clear Politics, October 28
