Republican Donald Trump will travel to the U.S.-Mexico border later this week, as part of an effort by his campaign to increase political pressure and steal the spotlight from Kamala Harris. as Democrats celebrate their presidential nomination at their national convention in Chicago.
Trump will travel to Montezuma Pass, Arizona, on Thursday, the same day Harris is scheduled to give her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
The border visit is part of a weeklong campaign that will take the former president to several key states, after weeks in which he held only one or two events a week. The Trump campaign and its staff’s roster of activities also includes daily news conferences, which aides hope will represent a stark contrast to Harris’ campaign, which has yet to hold an official news conference since securing the Democratic nomination.
The ramped-up campaign agenda comes as Trump’s campaign has been losing ground to Harris, who has made slight gains in national polls and fundraising. Trump’s advisers said they believe forcing the vice president to participate in unscheduled meetings and policy debates would ultimately be detrimental to her campaign.
“While Harris dodges questions from the press and attempts to backtrack on her extreme policies like the New Green Scam and bans on American energy, President Trump and Senator Vance will take their “America First” message to voters in battleground states across the country.”Trump advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.
Harris has occasionally taken questions from reporters and has committed to a full interview later this month.
In Arizona, Trump is expected to meet with the Border Patrol union and members of the sheriff’s department and participate in a briefing accompanied by officials including the county sheriff and Brandon Judd, who is the former chairman of the National Border Patrol Council. He will then participate in a walk along the border before taking part in a listening session with ordinary Americans and making remarks to the press, according to campaign officials.
Before heading to the border, Trump is expected to hold a rally on Monday in Pennsylvania, a key debate state. Harris will tour the state by bus over the weekend before heading to Chicago for the convention.
On Tuesday, while Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, will attend an event in Milwaukee, Trump will deliver a speech on “crime and security” in Howell, Michigan. On Wednesday, the day Walz is scheduled to give his acceptance speech, Trump will hold a national security rally in North Carolina. And after his trip to the border, Trump will attend a rally in Glendale, Arizona.
Harris’ entry into the race has upended a 2024 contest that was already unprecedented in its nature, with Trump running as the first former president to be convicted of a felony, surviving a failed assassination attempt at an outdoor rally and being forced to switch sides after Biden was ousted from the ticket by a Democratic pressure campaign.
Recent polls have shown a tight race in a campaign in which Trump was previously a consistent front-runner. A poll released Sunday shows Harris leading Trump by a narrow margin in a head-to-head matchup, 49% to 45%, among registered voters nationwide. The same poll, by the Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos, showed a dead heat in early July when President Joe Biden was the candidate.
