WASHINGTON – Ms Kamala Harris said on Oct 22 that America is “absolutely” ready to elect its first woman president, but downplayed her historic bid, saying she simply wants to turn the page for a nation “exhausted” by Donald Trump.

       With two weeks to Election Day, Ms Harris and Trump are saturating swing states with rallies and taking to the airwaves and podcasts on the hunt for an advantage in a race that polls suggest is effectively tied.

       Speaking on the national NBC network, Ms Harris responded “absolutely” when asked if America was ready to elect its first woman – but also noted that her candidacy was about “turning the page”.

       “People are exhausted with Donald Trump and his approach, because it’s all about himself,” she said.

       Trump, speaking to supporters in North Carolina, pitched a very different message.

       “This election is a choice between whether we will have four more years of incompetence, failure and disaster, or whether we’ll begin the four greatest years in the history of our country,” he said to cheers.

       He repeatedly called Ms Harris and her running mate Tim Walz stupid during the rally.

       The race is overshadowed by extraordinary tensions and fears of violence or a refusal by Trump to recognise the results if he loses, as he continues to do over his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden.

       Ms Harris told NBC that her campaign was “of course” ready for a scenario where Trump prematurely claims victory during a vote-counting process that could take days to complete.

       Mr Biden, who has been an infrequent presence in Ms Harris’ campaign, took a shot at Trump on Oct 22 by rewording the former president’s notorious anti-Hillary Clinton chant of “Lock her up”.

       On a visit to New Hampshire, Mr Biden told a small crowd that “we got to lock” Trump up – adding quickly, “politically lock him up”.

       With Trump facing multiple pending criminal charges as he competes against Ms Harris to succeed Mr Biden, the White House has been very careful not to weigh in on the Republican’s legal problems.

       The Trump campaign responded that Mr Biden and Ms Harris had a “plan all along... to politically persecute their opponent”.

       About 18 million Americans have already voted by mail or in person – representing more than 10 per cent of the total in 2020.

       Some polls appear to be giving Trump, who at 78 is the oldest nominee from a major party in US history, a slight edge recently – but all within the margin of error.

       Whatever the result, US voters will make history on Nov 5: They will either elect the country’s first woman president, or they will put the first convicted felon into the White House.

       Ms Harris, 60, is also deploying two of her party’s most popular emissaries onto the campaign trail: Mr Barack Obama and Mrs Michelle Obama.

       The former president, speaking at a rally in Madison, rolled back the years with fiery attacks on Trump.

       “Don’t boo, vote!” he implored people after his jibes.

       Later in the day, rapper Eminem upped the star factor when he introduced Mr Obama at a major Harris campaign event in Detroit, drawing a rapped reply from the former president.

       “I don’t usually get nervous, but I was feeling some kinda way following Eminem,” Mr Obama said before launching into a recitation of the lyrics to the rapper’s hit Lose Yourself.

       At the same time, Trump has increasingly repeated conspiracy theories on the campaign trail, often taking aim at migrants and his political opponents.

       While speaking to Latino leaders on Oct 22 in Florida, he said: “As president, you have tremendous – it’s called extreme – power. You have extreme power.”

       He added: “You can, just by the fact, you say ‘close the border’ and the border’s closed.”

       The Harris campaign has begun to hammer at his mental and physical fitness to occupy the Oval Office, while trying to woo moderate Republican voters.

       One of Trump’s top aides when he was in office, former Marine general John Kelly, confirmed on Oct 22 to The New York Times previous reports that he considered the Republican to be a fascist.

       “Certainly, the former president is in the far-right area. He’s certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators – he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.”

       Mr Joe Rogan, host of one of the most popular podcasts in America, said his interview with Trump is due out on Oct 25.

       Non-traditional media, including podcasts, has played a key role in the campaign in targeting specific audiences like young women and black men. AFP