Trump, Harris clash over rhetoric as they battle for swing state votes

MILWAUKEE, United States — Donald Trump came under fire for violent remarks targeting a high-profile Republican supporter of Kamala Harris Friday as the candidates held rallies in critical Rust Belt battleground states four days before the climax of a volatile US presidential campaign.

More than 68 million Americans have already cast their ballots ahead of Election Day on Tuesday. Opinion polls show Trump and Harris running dead even, with victory depending on who prevails across the seven swing states, including Wisconsin and Michigan.

Both held a full day of campaign events, concluding with rallies in Wisconsin's largest city Milwaukee.

"Everything we have been fighting for these past four years comes down to the next four days," Trump told a boisterous crowd in Warren, Michigan.

The former president then was to speak in the same venue where he earned the Republican Party nomination over the summer and gave a triumphant acceptance speech just days after surviving an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.

Harris -- who only entered the race in July after President Joe Biden dropped out amid fears over his declining mental acuity -- was to be joined by star rapper Cardi B in the latest of a series of high-energy rallies.

Earlier, Harris lambasted Trump for using "violent rhetoric" when discussing one of his chief Republican critics.

Trump has "suggested rifles should be trained on former representative Liz Cheney," Harris told reporters in Madison, Wisconsin.

"This must be disqualifying. Anyone... who uses that kind of violent rhetoric is clearly disqualified and unqualified to be president."

As the contest draws to a close, Trump has doubled down on his most provocative talking points, seeking to fire up a base he needs to turn out in massive numbers.

"Get everyone you know. Vote, vote, vote," the 78-year-old billionaire pleaded in Michigan, which with Wisconsin is part of the Democrats' "blue wall" across the Midwest.

But the region could go either way -- and with it, the presidency.

The other path to victory could run through southern and western Sun Belt swing states, where Trump and Harris both campaigned Thursday.

At an Arizona event with former Fox News