With eight days until the election, former President Donald Trump held a rally at Madison Square Garden in his hometown of New York while Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned in the swing state of Pennsylvania.

At the Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday, Trump repeatedly emphasized his plan to end undocumented immigration and deport migrants whom he described as “vicious, bloodthirsty criminals.”

Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris said in Philadelphia that no one should stay away. “We are focused on the future and the needs of the American people,” she said.

As of midday Sunday (4:00 p.m. GMT), more than 41 million Americans had already voted early in person or by mail, according to a count carried out by the University of Florida electoral laboratory. In 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 100 million voters cast ballots before Election Day.

What are the latest poll updates?

Harris and Trump remain neck and neck in this very close race.

A CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday showed Harris leading Trump nationally, with 50 percent to Trump’s 49 percent, but the result remains subject to the survey’s margin of error.

The poll also showed that there is a major gender divide in the race, with more men preferring Trump and more women preferring Harris. Trump, according to the poll, leads male voters 54 percent to 45 percent, while Harris leads female voters 55 percent to 43 percent.

Men are more likely to view Trump as a strong leader (64% vs. 50%), while women are more likely to say Harris has the “good mental and cognitive health” to be president, according to the poll.

In a separate analysis of FiveThirtyEight’s daily election poll tracker, Harris was slightly ahead in national polls Sunday, leading Trump by 1.4 percentage points. However, the long-term trend shows the race is getting closer, with the gap narrowing by 1.7 points in the past week.

Seven US swing states will likely determine the outcome of the election.

According to FiveThirtyEight’s daily poll, Harris maintains a narrow lead in Michigan and Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Trump holds a slight advantage over Harris in Pennsylvania and Nevada and enjoys a more substantial lead in North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia.

However, in all seven states, the candidates are within two points of each other, which is well within the polls’ margins of error, leaving each state face to face just days before the final vote.

What was Kamala Harris doing on Sunday?

On Sunday, the Democratic candidate spoke at the Church of Christian Compassion in Philadelphia, where she highlighted the stakes of the election, calling it “the most important election of our lifetime.”

“In just nine days, we have the power to decide the fate of our nation for generations to come,” Harris said, in comments reported by CBS Philadelphia.

“Here in Pennsylvania, each of us has the opportunity to make a difference right now,” she said. “The great thing about living in a democracy is that we, the people, have the choice to answer this question. Let us therefore respond not only with our words, but also with our works.

Harris also addressed young voters, calling them “rightly impatient for change.”

To Generation Z:

You, who have only known the climate crisis, are the leaders of what we must do to protect our planet.
You who grew up with active shooter drills know what we need to do to keep our schools safe.
You who perhaps have fewer rights than your mothers and grandmothers…

–Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 27, 2024

On Sunday, reporters asked Harris if she was concerned about recent conversations between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two men maintained a close relationship during Trump’s presidency.

When asked if these negotiations could compromise the objectives of the current US administration, she replied “no.”

“I believe it is critically important that we, the United States of America, actively participate in encouraging such a war, that this war ends, that we release the hostages, but also that “There is a real commitment between nations to a two-way war and the ‘morning after’ (in Gaza),” Harris told reporters.

A recent Arab News/YouGov poll found that Arab-American support for Trump (45%) slightly exceeded that for Harris (43%), with more respondents also viewing Trump as more likely to resolve the Israeli-Israeli conflict. Palestinian.

What was Donald Trump doing on Sunday?

The Republican candidate rallied his Make America Great Again (MAGA) base at an event in New York, promising to crack down on migration and taking aim at Harris.

“November 5 will be the most important date in our country’s history, and together we will make America great again,” said the former president, who painted a portrait of a country in the grip of to economic and social crises.

Trump also blamed Harris – who he described as a “radical left-wing Marxist,” unintelligent and “unfit” to serve as president – ​​for the problems facing the country. “You have destroyed our country,” he said, referring to the US vice president.

Separately, a comedian’s controversial performance sparked backlash after he called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.”

Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe asked: “Where are my proud Latinos tonight? ”, before launching into a series of jokes about immigration and the border between Texas and Mexico. “You see what I mean? It’s wide open; there are so many,” he added.

Hinchcliffe’s performance took a drastic turn when he compared Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, to ocean trash.

“There’s a lot going on, I don’t know if you know this, but there’s literally a floating island of trash in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” Hinchcliffe said.

Her joke was immediately criticized by Harris’ campaign as she competes with Trump to win over Puerto Rican communities in Pennsylvania and other swing states. Puerto Rican music superstar Bad Bunny supported Harris shortly after Hinchcliffe’s comments.

The usually pugnacious Trump campaign took the rare step of distancing itself from Hinchcliffe. “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” senior advisor Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.

What’s next for the Harris and Trump campaigns?

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz – joint gathering in Michigan

Harris and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz are holding a campaign rally and concert in Ann Arbor, a Michigan college town. The event will feature a performance by singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers.

In Michigan, Harris and Trump are battling to appeal to voters, including an Arab American and Muslim population deeply concerned about Israel’s war on Gaza.

Trump fully supports Israel but has not specified how he would end the conflict. Despite this, he appears to be gaining support from some Muslim Americans who are unhappy with President Joe Biden and Harris’ support for Israel throughout the war so far.

“It’s safe to say that this is a must-win state for Kamala Harris, and yet Arab Americans – who have supported Democrats far more than Republicans since 2004, Iraq and Abu Ghraib – have really been unhappy with the Biden administration and Kamala Harris’ speech. lack of distance with the Biden administration on the issue of Gaza (and) now Lebanon,” John Zogby, pollster and founder of John Zogby Strategies, told Al Jazeera.

Trump rally in Georgia

Trump will speak in Atlanta on Monday.

He will begin with a speech at the National Faith Summit in Powder Springs and conclude with a rally at Georgia Tech.

According to local media, Trump will first address more than 1,000 pastors and religious leaders before heading to McCamish Pavilion for his planned campaign rally.

Trump is expected to emphasize economic issues and promote early voting.

Georgia, with 16 Electoral College votes, is another key battleground state – Trump won it in 2016 but narrowly lost the state to President Biden in 2020.