In the final days of the campaign neither Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris are leaving anything to chance. Whipping up the fear syndrome is a strategy, as is going after that segment of the voting population which might have seemed in their pocket in 2020, 2016 or 2012. These apart, there is also the deliberate attempt to try and appeal to a segment of voters who would appear distant.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ interview with Fox News might have seemed to many as a calculated attempt to woo that small sliver of conservative vote who may not be fully in the Trump-mode.

The interview showed a fiery Harris willing to talk to a right wing network, but Trump unwilling to do the same with a liberal network.

But there is a bigger issue that Democrats and the Harris campaign are worried about. Days to go before the vote, the Vice President is going the extra mile in making sure that the Black, Latino and Jewish votes stayed with her. The bottom line: former President Trump is building on the numbers he had in 2016 and 2020.

Obama’s support

It was not without good reason that the Harris campaign pulled out its big time campaigner, Barack Obama who appealed to black men. “And you are thinking about sitting out?... part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that… women in our lives have been getting our backs this entire time,” Obama posed.

Obama’s blunt speaking may have angered some but the timing could not be ignored. A poll showed that Harris had the backing of 78 per cent of black voters; and only 15 per cent backed Trump. But this is down from 90 per cent who had backed President Biden in 2020. The drop this time around has been attributed to black men. And this could be a disaster in a battleground state like Georgia where black voters account for about one-third of the total.

The same warning signals are coming from the Latino voters, poll numbers suggesting that Harris losing the 26-point grip that President Biden had over Trump in 2020. A recent New York Times/Siena College survey showed Harris with only a 19-point lead over the former President.

But Trump has been warning blacks and Latinos on the negative implications of an uncontrolled immigration at the borders, especially on crime and jobs. “Any African American or Hispanic … that votes for Kamala, you gotta have your head examined. Because they are really screwing you,” Trump said knowing full well the importance of Latino votes in Arizona and Nevada.

Another segment that the Harris campaign must pay close attention to is the Jewish community, traditionally supporters of Democrats. It is being pointed out that support for Democratic Presidents has been slipping since the time of Bill Clinton who in 1992 posted a 80 per cent backing.

In 2016 Hillary Clinton had 71 per cent backing; 68 per cent for Biden in 2020 and currently Harris with 67 per cent. And the weak spots for the Harris campaign are anti-semitism and the events in Gaza.

Arab Americans who supported Biden have decided to sit out this November. It would matter in a swing state like Michigan. Responding to a heckler in Wisconsin who was yelling about Israel committing genocide, Harris replied, “Listen, what he’s talking about. It’s real. That’s not the subject that I came to discuss today, but it’s real and I respect his voice”. Even indirect linkages between Israel and genocide will be unacceptable to a traditional Jewish voter.

The writer is a senior journalist who has reported from Washington DC on North America and United Nations

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