District of Columbia: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump launched into the frenzied final day of their historic fight for the White House Monday, with blow-out rallies in the handful of swing states that will decide who leads the United States.
Clinton, the front-running Democrat, aimed to nail down her narrow lead with stops in three battleground states, as President Barack Obama covers for her elsewhere before they join up at a star-studded grand finale in Philadelphia.
Trump, the billionaire Republican nominee, was setting out from must-win Florida on a five state swing, the culmination of a dramatic run for the presidency as a right-wing nationalist vowing radical change in America`s relationship with the world.
The 70-year-old mogul`s last best hope of winning on Tuesday may be to break through a wall of Democratic support in industrial northern states like Michigan, and Trump, Clinton and Obama all focused precious final efforts campaigning there.
As she boarded her campaign plane in White Plains, New York for the flight to Pennsylvania, Clinton acknowledged the deep divisions in the country, and admitted that bringing it together again will require "some work."
"I really do want to be the president for everybody -- people who vote for me, people who vote against me," she told reporters.
As the day began, Clinton held just a 2.2 percent lead over Trump in a four way race including third party candidates, according to a
US media, however, predicted substantial to big wins for the 69-year-old Democrat when electoral votes are counted. Influential election forecaster
Under the cloud of an FBI investigation, Clinton got good news Sunday when James
But the damage may already have been done.
Her popularity dipped and opinion polls tightened after
It gave Trump a windfall opportunity to recover ground lost while battling accusations of sexual assault, and the race looked headed for a photo finish.Trump begins his day with a rally in Sarasota, Florida, before a flurry of campaign appearances in Raleigh, North Carolina, Scranton, Pennsylvania, Manchester, New Hampshire and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Besides Obama and First Lady Michelle, Clinton will draw on the star power of rockers Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi at their final big rally in Philadelphia Monday night.
Clinton who will make earlier appearances at rallies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Grand Rapids, Michigan, ends her day in the closely contested swing state of North Carolina.
Clinton`s Sunday rallies had a note of optimism mixed with warnings of the threat posed by Trump.
"I really want each and every one of us to think for a moment about how we would feel on November 9, if we were not successful," she said in Manchester, New Hampshire
"When your kids and grandkids ask you what you did in 2016, when everything was on the line, I hope you`ll be able to say you voted for a better, stronger, fairer America."The world has looked on aghast as Trump`s sensationalist reality television style became a driving force propelling him toward the most powerful political post in the world.
Asian and European exchanges, which had been rocked by news of the FBI probe, surged Monday morning and Wall Street opened higher, hours after
Even so, said Patrick O`Hare of Briefing.com, "Polls still show a fairly tight race, and with the
Trump is predicting just such a ballot upset, or "
For Trump and his supporters, Clinton symbolizes the corruption of the Washington elite.
"Right now she`s being protected by a rigged system. It`s a totally rigged system. I`
Trump has repeatedly condemned Clinton`s "criminal scheme" and argued that she`s unfit to be president.
He has previously threatened to reject the vote result if he loses, alleging that the race has been "rigged" by the media and the establishment elite.
Clinton hammered her opponent over his sometimes ugly rhetoric and, implicitly, the alleged covert Russian interference that has poisoned the race.
"There are powerful forces inside and outside of America that do threaten to pull us apart," she said.
"We`
If Clinton wins, she will seek to build on Obama`s cautious but progressive legacy, including his controversial health insurance reforms.
Trump has vowed to tear up the reform along with free trade agreements, to rebuild a "depleted" US military, review US alliances and build a wall on the Mexican border.
