Donald Trump, Kamala Harris neck and neck in key swing states as US presidential election nears

2024 US President Election: Vice President Kamala Harris is leading ahead of Republican candidate Donald Trump in several key battleground states as the presidential race inches closer.

According to swing state polls by the New York Times/Siena, Harris is leading Trump in Arizona and North Carolina, while the former US President is leading Harris in Georgia and Nevada.

Harris also led Trump in the Rust Belt states earlier this month. However, before Joe Biden withdrew his candidacy from the US presidential election in November, Trump led hum by 3% in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

It is pertinent to note that Trump and Harris need to secure at least one of the four Sun Belt States alongside three Rust Belt states to clinch the US presidential post. Currently, both candidates are tied at 48%, as per the survey report.

Saturday's poll data shows significant improvement for Democrats, as the previous survey conducted in May stated that Trump was leading Biden in three states: Arizona, Georgia and Nevada.

‘Kamala Harris easier than Joe Biden’

On Saturday, Donald Trump said he believed Democrat Kamala Harris would be easier to beat than Biden, even as some polls showed her edging ahead in the November 5 presidential election race.

"I believe she will be easier to beat than him," said Trump, referring to her as "radical" and a “lunatic”. His remarks came during a rally in Wilkes-Barre in northeastern Pennsylvania, a state looming large in the campaign.

“Have you heard her laugh? That is the laugh of a crazy person. I'm much better looking than her. Harris should have done more to tackle inflation and other issues since she and Biden took office,” he said as quoted by Reuters.

Pennsylvania was one of three Rust Belt states, along with Wisconsin and Michigan, that helped power Trump's upset victory in 2016. Biden, who grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, flipped the trio back to the Democrats in 2020.