Kamala Harris clapped back on Thursday at Donald Trump over what she called his "very offensive" remarks about women, returning reproductive rights to the fore as the rivals take their knife-edge White House race to western battleground states.
As each candidate seeks even the slightest of advantages, they have also homed in on immigration and are aiming to woo crucial Latino voters with just five days before the November 5 election.
Pop icon Jennifer Lopez will bring her star power to the stage for Harris in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the Democratic vice president and Republican former president chase one another through the seven swing states expected to decide the election winner.
Trump held a rally on Thursday in Nevada and also scheduled an interview in neighboring Arizona with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Harris began her day in Wisconsin, lashing out at Trump over his remarks the previous day when he raised eyebrows by telling a rally that "I want to protect the women of our country... whether the women like it or not."
She branded the comments "offensive to everybody" and "very offensive to women in terms of not understanding their agency."
Trump, she told reporters, "does not prioritize the freedom of women and the intelligence of women to make decisions about their own lives and bodies."
Reproductive rights have served as a rallying cry for Democrats -- and an Achilles heel of sorts for Trump -- ever since the conservative-dominated US Supreme Court ended the federal right to abortion in 2022, resulting in what Harris has been quick to call "Trump abortion bans" in multiple states.
With this year's election showing a demonstrable gender gap, with women voters tilting toward Harris, and Trump earning support from most men, abortion rights could play a determining role in the outcome.
Campaigning out west, Trump is betting frustrations over the Biden-Harris administration's immigration policy will swing border state Arizona back in his favor after Biden beat Trump there in 2020.
Latino voters traditionally have aligned more with Democrats, but recent polling shows a noticeable trend toward Republicans.
The latest New York Times/Siena poll showed Harris with 52% of support among Hispanic voters to Trump's 42%.
Both candidates will be in North Carolina on the weekend as part of a blitz of battleground states, with Harris also visiting Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania before Election Day.
