What to see in the final week of the presidential campaign

By STEVE VOLKEREN

NEW YORK (AP) — Uncertainty looms entering the final full week of the 2024 campaign with Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump locked in a fiercely competitive presidential battle. What happens in the coming days will be crucial in determining the winner.

Here’s what we’re watching this week:

Can Trump (relatively speaking) stick to his message?

Even before the week started, controversy threatened to throw Trump’s campaign off course. Instead, a rally was held late Sunday at Madison Square Garden in New York City that was intended as a final message overshadowed by racist insultsincluding a comedian who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of trash.”

And with eight days to go until Election DayHistory shows that Trump is almost guaranteed to say or do something else controversial in the final stages. The only question is whether it will break through.

If there’s one thing we know, it’s that Trump can’t help himself. He has used authoritarian rhetoric in recent days to suggest that his Democratic opponents, whom he calls “ the enemy within”, are more dangerous to the nation than the threat posed by Russia and China.

Democrats will scour every Trump interview and public appearance for something similar to exploit. There are also several ongoing ones criminal investigation into Trumpwho has already been convicted of 34 felony charges, could reveal new information.

Yet Democrats are the first to admit that voters’ opinions about Trump have become so hardened that it would take something truly stunning to change the course of the election.

However, there is precedent for a banger in the last week. Remember, it was October 28, 2016 when former FBI Director James Comey sent a letter to Congress indicating that federal investigators were aware of new emails relevant to the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

Will Harris’ closing message ease Democrats’ concerns?

It would be an understatement to describe Democrats as anxious as Election Day approaches. But there was a deliberate attempt this weekend from Harris’ senior team to project optimism to temper the fears.

Harris senior adviser Jen O’Malley Dillon predicted victory on MSNBC on Sunday: “We’re confident we’re going to win this,” she said. “We see extraordinary enthusiasm. This will be an exciting race and our campaign is exactly where we want to be.”