Trump and Harris continue campaigning after Milton attack in Florida

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is traveling to Nevada and Arizona while former President Donald Trump discusses economic issues in Michigan, as the presidential campaign continues despite Hurricane Milton battering Florida.

Trump spoke at the Economic Club of Detroit on Wednesday after holding rallies in Pennsylvania. Harris attended a Univision town hall in Las Vegas and an evening rally in Phoenix while staying in close contact with the White House and monitoring federal disaster response efforts.

President Joe Biden, who said Milton “looks like the storm of the century,” postponed a trip to Germany and Angola to deal with the aftermath.

Even amid the hurricane, the Harris and Trump campaigns are using their trips strategically, trying to increase support from key voting blocs that could decide an election that promises to be extremely close.

Trump has focused on garnering votes in heavily Hispanic areas of Pennsylvania, including Reading, where he held a rally Wednesday. Harris is in the West as her campaign seeks to increase support among Hispanic voters, particularly men. His campaign this week launched a group known as “Hombres con Harris.”

Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, attended a Hombres launch event Wednesday with Arizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego and actor Jaime Camil in Phoenix. Similar rallies took place elsewhere in Arizona, as well as Nevada and Pennsylvania.

The group plans to hold upcoming events at Latino small businesses, union halls, barbecues and community events leading up to Election Day.

The Harris campaign also aimed to reach Hispanic voters who may not be following the election closely by, among other things, having Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Harris’ campaign manager, attend the recent boxing match between Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas and organizing events. in churches and elsewhere to mark Mexican Independence Day in September.

Harris’ campaign also announced last month that it would spend $3 million on Spanish-language radio ads and focus on sporting events like baseball and boxing matches.

Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama is also on the campaign trail Thursday night, making his first appearance for Harris at a rally in Pittsburgh.

This begins what the Harris campaign says will be a series of campaign stops Obama will make on behalf of the vice president. Biden spent Monday campaigning in suburban Philadelphia but has made only one joint appearance with Harris, joining her in Pittsburgh on Labor Day, since he announced he was leaving the race and supported it in July.

Obama was among leading Democrats who participated behind the scenes in a behind-the-scenes effort to encourage Biden, his former vice president, to drop out. Obama and Harris have also been friends for two decades, ever since he ran for Senate in Illinois. She campaigned for him when he ran for president in 2008.