Pennsylvania, for many the most decisive of the seven hinge states in which the next US presidency will be decidedhas received again for the umpteenth time so far this campaign the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, who this Wednesday night faced questions from undecided voters – 3% of the state electorate, in August – in a debate in Aston, Delaware County. Televised by CNN, the meeting between the current vice president of the United States and the voters in Pennsylvaniawhich since 1948 has been a mandatory toll towards the White House for Democrats, occurs while voting intention polls confirm a close tie with his Republican rival, Donald Trump. With 19 electoral votes—more than any of the other hinge states—his appearance before thirty potential voters was almost as important as the face that CNN had proposed to the two candidates that very night. Trump declined the offer, and Harris converted it into a televised campaign event, moderated by network presenter Anderson Cooper, who immediately verified and contrasted the data of her speech.

Although she promised to be “a president for all Americans,” Harris did not waste a second to attack her rival, whom she described as “unfit” to hold office. In the morning, the vice president had called the Republican “unhinged and unstable,” noting that reports of the Republican’s positive comments about Hitler offer voters “the opportunity to see who Donald Trump really is.” “It is very dangerous for Trump to invoke Hitler”he reiterated. Harris was referring to statements by John Kelly, the former Marine general and Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, that Trump fits the definition of a fascist and would rule as a dictator if re-elected. It was easy to foresee what the opening argument of the debate would be, and it was none other than taking advantage of that newly opened flank. Harris did not disappoint expectations: when asked if she believes that Donald Trump is a “fascist,” she responded: “Yes, I do.” “It is not suitable [para el cargo] and it is dangerous, a danger to the well-being and security of the United States,” he stated.

To convince an undecided politics professor, Harris listed her priorities: guaranteeing the right to abortion, jobs and infrastructure, while promising to work with Republicans. Inflation and the cost of living, the main concern for the majority of Americans according to surveys, did not take long to come to the fore, and when asked to whom to attribute the shortage, she avoided answering directly and instead reiterated her proposal to prohibit price speculation and make housing more affordable. The vice president assured that the price of food “continues to be too high” and said that her proposal to prohibit speculation would help achieve this. “This is the first time we will have a national ban on price gouging, that is, companies that take advantage of the desperation and need of the American consumer and raise prices without any consequence or accountability,” Harris said. Economists doubt the effectiveness of the proposal.

Regarding the other big issue that Republicans are raising against Harris, immigration pressure at the border, the Democratic candidate acknowledged that it is overwhelmed and that more personnel are needed, but she defended Joe Biden’s policy by stating that “right now there are many fewer crossings.” illegal than in times of the Trump Administration” (2017-2021). The moderator reminded the vice president that she had previously described the wall with Mexico that Trump intends to complete if he is re-elected as stupid. Harris instead promised to recover the bipartisan law, torpedoed in Congress by Trump, “to reinforce and guarantee security at the border and to solve a broken immigration system, through a comprehensive law that breaks partisan lines.” “We have to move beyond this era of partisan politics, which holds back what we need to do in terms of progress in our country. And that means working together,” he added. The immigration block occupied a good part of the event. “The United States has always had immigration, but it has to be a legal process,” he stressed.

After ensuring that, if she wins, her Administration will reflect “my own ideas and my own experience,” the Democratic candidate alternated between carrot and stick, disqualifying her rival and reaching out to many voters, including some Republicans in the audience. “People are frankly exhausted with what’s been happening in recent years, this environment that suggests that Americans should point fingers at each other, that we are divided as a nation,” he said. “The vast majority of us have much more in common than what separates us. And I think the American people deserve to have a president who is based on common sense, what is practical and what is best for the people, not themselves.”

“I am not going to prohibit the frackingbut neither has our intention to invest in clean energy changed… We can invest in a clean energy economy and still not ban fracking”was the nod to a participant who introduced himself as a Republican. The moderator, as a fact checker, highlighted the vice president’s contradictions on hydraulic fracturing, but also on Medicare coverage or illegal border crossings, comparing her words tonight with messages from the 2019 campaign. “I am not going to allow a border that is not safe,” he stated, without commenting on an old proposal of his to decriminalize illegal crossings to which he did not want to refer.

One of the issues that bother Harris the most are the references to the Gaza war and Washington’s closed support for Israel. To avoid angry comments like those she has made at other rallies—at the beginning of her campaign she ordered even those who questioned her to silence—the Democratic candidate stood in profile when asked if she would be more pro-Israel than Trump. He also avoided answering a question about his plans, if any, to prevent more Palestinians from being killed “by US tax-funded bombs.” Harris responded on autopilot, to avoid swinging to one side (Americans critical of strong support for Israel) or another (Jewish voters, who tend to vote as a bloc).

Despite the explosion of enthusiasm unleashed by replacing Joe Biden on the ballots13 days before the elections, the Democratic candidate’s popularity rating is, along with Trump’s, among the lowest in recent decades, according to the poll conducted every four years by Gallup. The only candidates who have been less popular in the last 56 years are Trump, in his previous race, in 2016, and his antagonist in those elections, Hillary Clinton, the only woman who has tried to reach the White House before Harris. Curiously, both Harris and Trump are the most popular candidates in history in their respective parties, which would show a certain gulf in public opinion and, in addition, a greater disinterest or detachment from voters. Harris has worked hard with them, but without going overboard.