Philadelphia, United States:

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump made their final case Monday in the hours before Election Day, when voters will either elect America’s first female president or deliver an unprecedented comeback to the Republican that will shake the world.

With polls showing an extremely high result, Trump vowed to take the US to “new heights of victory” and Harris said “momentum is on our side” as rivals held the final rallies of the 2024 race in key battleground states.

The Democratic vice president ended the rally on a high note in Philadelphia, in the must-win state of Pennsylvania, on the steps immortalized in the boxing movie “Rocky.”

“This may be one of the closest races in history; every vote counts,” said Harris, who was joined by celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey.

He also referenced the film, telling his thousands of supporters that “here, on these famous steps,” he “pays tribute to those who started as underdogs and climbed to victory.”

Harris, 60, has repeatedly said she is the underdog, only joining the race after President Joe Biden’s departure three months ago. But he insisted he would win.

Former president Trump brought several family members onto the stage at his closing rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his wife Melania conspicuously absent.

There, as before in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, his speech was filled with dark rhetoric.

“With your vote tomorrow, we can solve every problem our country faces and lead America—indeed, the world—to new victories,” he told the crowd as the clock ticked on Tuesday.

‘Show’

Their final remarks reflected the critical importance that participation will play in an exciting race.

Both parties say they are encouraged by early turnout, with more than 82 million people voting early, but they now need to mobilize their supporters on Election Day.

An excited Trump said his supporters could “put ourselves in a position to win, and if we show up, we can do it very easily.”

“We need everyone in Pennsylvania to vote, and you will decide the outcome,” Harris said.

Polls open at 6 a.m. (11 a.m. GMT) on Tuesday on the East Coast – but opened at midnight in New Hampshire’s tiny hamlet of Dixville Notch, recording three votes for Trump and three for Harris.

In recent days, Republicans and Democrats have given completely opposite messages.

Speaking earlier in Reading, Pennsylvania, Trump pursued his apocalyptic vision of a United States in decline and oppressed by illegal immigrants whom he described as “savages” and “animals.”

Harris, meanwhile, voiced her opposition to Trump-backed abortion bans across the US, one of her key vote-winning positions.

But he also struck an optimistic, centrist note, calling for a “fresh start” after nearly a decade of Trump dominating US political discourse.

high voltage

78-year-old Trump becomes the oldest major party candidate to run for US president

But despite criminal convictions and the scandal of violent attacks on Congress four years ago when his supporters refused to accept the 2020 election results, he enters Election Day with huge advantages.

While Trump voices voters’ concerns about the economy and illegal immigration, his harsh rhetoric is catnip to his right-wing base.

Her message caught the attention of 19-year-old first-time voter Ethan Wells, a restaurant cook in Michigan.

He “allowed a lot of illegals in and they are killing and raping our own people,” Biden told AFP. “When Trump became president, no one messed with America.”

Harris had to mount a full campaign in three months, but she quickly galvanized the Democratic Party and generated excitement among young voters and women.

“Tomorrow we’re going to elect the first female president,” 24-year-old host Luke Little said in Philadelphia.

The world is watching with concern that the outcome will have important consequences for the conflicts in the Middle East, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the fight against climate change, which Trump calls a hoax.

The most immediate fear is that US democracy will be tested if Trump loses but refuses to concede defeat, as he did four years ago when his supporters stormed the US Capitol.

The fear of violence is very real, given that Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in July and police thwarted a second alleged plot.

In Washington, a growing number of businesses and office buildings are being closed in case of unrest.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is syndicated.)