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Vote for me “even if you don’t like me”

WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump acknowledged Wednesday that many voters don't like him – so he must convince them to be even more negative about Vice President Kamala Harris.

“You can't take the risk! You have no choice! You have to do it for me!” Trump said while discussing fracking at an event with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

Trump added: “Even if you don't like me! You can sit there and say, 'I can't stand that guy, but there is under no circumstances I will vote for her!'”

The appeal for votes from people who don't like him was the highlight of what Fox News billed as a Trump “town hall” in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, although there were no questions from voters during the hour-long broadcast.

Trump at times appeared confused about who he was running against, saying he did not understand how New Hampshire residents could vote for President Joe Biden even though he dropped out of the race in July.

Further findings:

Preparing for the debate

In the run-up to Tuesday's debate, Trump revealed a major part of his strategy: He would attack Harris and try to lower her approval ratings.

During his debate with Harris, the former president attacked Harris on the economy, immigration and foreign policy.

His plea for votes “even if you don't like me” came amid a discussion of Harris' past opposition to fracking, the oil extraction process that is a major industry in vote-rich Pennsylvania. In a CNN interview last week, Harris said she would not ban fracking.

Trump also used the opportunity to lash out at the judges ahead of the debate by criticizing sponsor ABC News for its political coverage.

Trump questioned ABC's fairness and suggested the network might give the Harris team questions in advance, even though rules strictly prohibit that. Trump made similar complaints about CNN before the June 27 debate with Biden.

Later this week, Fox is scheduled to broadcast audience questions to Trump.

Focus on early voting

Trump continued to support early voting, which begins this month in several states, including Pennsylvania.

This includes mail-in voting, which Trump has opposed in the past, but mail-in voting played a key role in President Joe Biden's victory in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

The Fox News event came as Harris continues to widen her lead in national polls, with a new USA TODAY/Suffolk poll putting her ahead of Trump 48% to 43%, for example.

Polls continue to point to close races in seven swing states that are likely to determine who wins the presidency in the Electoral College: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina.

“We are not weird”

Trump again expressed his frustration over a particular dig by the Democrats: He and his running mate JD Vance are just “weird” guys.

Trump said of Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz: “There's something wrong with the guy. He's a weird guy. JD is not weird. He's a rock. I happen to be a very solid rock. We're not weird. We may be different things, but we're not weird.”

High security

The election campaign is marked by the threat of violence – from the school massacre in Georgia on Wednesday to increased security at political events following the assassination attempt on Trump in July.

“Well, it’s a sick and angry world for many reasons,” Trump said.

Elsewhere, Trump said the campaign was “not easy. I've been shot at. You know, I mean, I've been hit. I've been hit.”

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