Donald Trump and Kamala Harris held competing rallies across Pennsylvania on Monday, making their final pitches in the key swing state as polls point to an extremely close battle.

The two candidates presented starkly contrasting visions of America’s future on the eve of Election Day. Trump rambled through dark and dystopian speeches portraying migrants as dangerous criminals, while also launching personal attacks on a number of high-profile Democratic women. Harris delivered a more positive closing argument, shifting focus from the threat posed by the ex-president, who is not mentioned in her latest ad, and emphasizing that “we all have so much more in common than what divides us.”

Trump, who at times appeared hoarse and energetic, planned four rallies on Monday: one in Raleigh, North Carolina, two in Pennsylvania and a late-night event in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has continued to boast about the size of his audience, but reports suggest that some of his last events were plagued by empty seats and early audience departures during his long, meandering speeches.

Harris stayed in Pennsylvania with several rallies and events in a critical state that could decide the election. Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Ricky Martin and other celebrities were scheduled to appear at her latest event at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where the famous steps from the Rocky movie were lit in blue and a large “President for All” banner was displayed.

As the Harris campaign and its surrogates continued to appeal to female voters, Trump revived familiar insults against notable women, sometimes using violent language.

In North Carolina, he attacked former first lady Michelle Obama, saying, “She hit me the other day. I wanted to say to my people: can I hit her now? They said, take it easy, sir. He also suggested that Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi should have been jailed for tearing up a copy of his 2020 State of the Union address: “She’s a bad, sick woman, she’s as crazy as a bedbug.”

And Trump repeated his line about Harris being a “low IQ person,” followed by a rambling tangent seemingly imagining her having trouble falling asleep: “I don’t want her to say, ‘You know, I had an idea last night while I was sleeping. sleeping, turning, tossing, sweating,” he said without finishing the sentence.

Trump leaned on his taunts as he continues to face scrutiny for his recent comment suggesting that Liz Cheney, the GOP’s former Republican congresswoman and a Harris supporter, should face guns “shooting at her ”. Cheney appeared on ABC’s The View on Monday and said on Tuesday: “Women are going to save the day.”

In North Carolina, Trump also threatened Mexico’s newly elected president, Claudia Sheinbaum, suggesting he would impose tariffs on all Mexican goods “if they don’t stop this onslaught of criminals and drugs” – part of his trade proposals that economists have warned about . could significantly increase costs for U.S. consumers.

Later in Reading, Pennsylvania, Trump fantasized about wrestlers who could “take the migrants into a fight.” He repeated racist statements about immigrants and reaffirmed his threat of unprecedented mass deportations, saying Tuesday would be “liberation day.” He falsely suggested that Democrats support “open borders” so that undocumented immigrants can vote fraudulently.

Later, he spoke about the boxer Mike Tyson and, apparently in response to a comment from an audience member, suggested that Tyson tackle the vice president: “That guy could fight… Put Mike in the ring with Kamala.”

Around the same time, Harris gathered in Allentown, about 40 miles away, and criticized Trumpism without directly naming her opponent: “America is ready for a new path forward, where we see our fellow Americans not as enemies but as neighbors.” We’re ready for a president who understands that the true measure of a leader’s strength isn’t based on who you beat. It is based on who you elevate.”

Later, Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, drew loud applause at a rally in Georgia when he attacked Harris by bringing up Joe Biden’s recent gaffe in which he appeared to call Trump supporters “trash.”

“In two days, we’re going to take out the trash in Washington DC, and the trash’s name is Kamala Harris,” the Ohio senator said in a comment that was condemned by Democrats and pundits.

The back-and-forth about trash talk stemmed from a comedian’s racist joke at Trump’s recent rally in New York in which he called Puerto Rico a “floating island of trash,” a comment that many Harris surrogates quoted Monday as they appealed to Puerto Rican voters in Pennsylvania.

The vice president also stopped at a Puerto Rican restaurant with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and joined the canvassing directly in a residential neighborhood in Reading, telling voters in one home, “I wanted to knock on the door!”

At his evening rally in Pittsburgh, Trump returned to his obsession with crowd size, making false claims about low turnout at Harris’s nearby rally, which had not yet started. He then mocked Beyoncé, who rallied for Harris in Texas: “Everyone expects a few songs and there were no songs. There was no luck.” He added: “We don’t need a star. I never had a star.”

The latest battle to get voters comes as Trump continues to make false claims about voter fraud, raising fears about how he might challenge the results if Harris wins. In a call with reporters on Monday, the Harris campaign said it was prepared to fight any attempt by Trump to discredit the outcome.

“We have hundreds of attorneys across the country ready to protect the election results from any challenge Trump brings,” said Dana Remus, senior campaign advisor and outside counsel. “This won’t be the fastest process, but the law and the facts are on our side.”

Legal challenges were intended to undermine confidence in the electoral process, she added: “Please note that the number of cases does not equate to a volume of legitimate concerns. In fact, it just shows how desperate they are becoming.”

There are also growing fears that political violence will escalate on election day and beyond, as disinformation and conspiracy theories are expected to spread as the counts are underway. Election officials in one Nevada county said Monday that the threats have become so serious that polling places have installed “panic buttons” to automatically call 911 in emergencies.

At Trump’s rally in Pittsburgh, Michael Barringer, a 55-year-old miner, expressed his disdain for undocumented immigrants as he explained his support for Trump: “You have millions and millions of illegal aliens crossing the border. They don’t speak English. They do not pledge allegiance to the flag. They break free from us. I’m all for legal immigration, but I can’t cross the border illegally and take away American jobs.”

Elizabeth Slaby, 81, was first in line at Harris’ rally in Allentown, arriving around 6 a.m. She said she had been a registered Republican for more than 50 years but changed her registration after the Jan. 6 attack: “I never thought I would see a woman president and now I’m so excited.”

Lauren Gambino, Sam Levine and David Smith contributed reporting

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