Harris calls out 'fascist' Trump as race teeters on knife-edge

With just half a month to go, the US presidential election is deadlocked, as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump jockey for any advantage in ways that illuminate their stark political differences, with Harris announcing a plan to campaign with the Obamas, as Trump doubled down on threatening his enemies.

- Robert Tait

In the past week, Trump has gone further than ever in branding his political opponents “the enemy within”, talking about deploying the military against them, while Harris herself entered uncharted territory by outright labelling him “fascist”.

The latest polling figures seem to mirror such sharply polarised rhetoric, with the seven crucial swing states almost split down the middle in allegiance.

In a particularly graphic example, a Brookings Institution and Public Religion Research Institute survey published yesterday showed more than a third of voters, 34%, agreeing with one of Trump’s most incendiary contentions - that illegal immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of America, rhetoric that has drawn comparisons with Hitler and fuelled warnings of looming fascism.

As of 16 October, the Guardian's 10-day poll tracker showed Harris ahead nationwide by just 2 points, 48-46% - unchanged from a week ago and a significantly tighter margin than she enjoyed several weeks ago.