Kathmandu: Donald Trump and Joe Biden have both held campaign rallies in the US state of Georgia, as their general election showdown comes into greater focus. The former president, 77, slammed Thursday’s State of the Union speech as an “angry, dark and hate-filled rant”.
An hour later, President Biden, 81, unveiled new endorsements as he went on the offence against his rival. Both men are now within striking distance of clinching their respective party nominations for president.
Trump has so far amassed 1,076 delegates and is 139 away from the number needed to lock in the Republican nod. Biden has collected 1,859 delegates, 109 short of what he needs to secure the Democratic ticket. Each man has the chance to complete the task in primary contests on Tuesday, including in Georgia.
Their shadow-boxing duel on Saturday also comes two days after Biden rebuked his predecessor’s rhetoric and record in harsh terms during his State of the Union address to Congress.
Immigration is now the top concern for US voters, according to a Gallup poll released last month. With supporters holding aloft photos of Riley, and her family and friends in attendance, the former president vowed to “demand justice for Laken” and “seal the border”.
He also slammed Biden for rowing back on comments during the State of the Union in which he referred to the suspect as “an illegal”. The president expressed regret in an MSNBC interview that he had not used Democrats’ preferred term – undocumented.
Reframing November’s general election as “a contest between competing forces in a battle for the soul of this nation”, the president reiterated his view that Trump’s “story of resentment, revenge and retribution” was not in the best interests of voters.
Polls show Trump in the lead here, but he too has problems. Georgia is home to one of the four criminal cases against him that could go to trial before the election, and he faces 13 felony charges over his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 loss in the state.
In short, Georgia is on both these men’s minds and victory in November may well hinge on its result.
News Source: BBC