By Jeff Mason and Stephanie Kelly
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Vice President Kamala Harris will say U.S. Steel should remain in domestic hands during a campaign rally she plans to hold with U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday after they first meet at the White House to discuss a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza.
This week marks the start of the vital post-Labor Day sprint to the Nov. 5 election, and both Harris and her Republican challenger former President Donald Trump are expected to ramp up outreach to voters, especially in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Nevada.
Harris, who replaced Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket after he withdrew after a poor June debate performance against Trump, will use her Labor Day remarks in Pittsburgh to underscore support for steel workers, a campaign aide said.
“The vice president is expected to say that U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned and operated and stress her commitment to always have the backs of American steel workers,” the aide said.
Harris’ position mirrors that of Biden, who said in March that U.S. Steel Corp, which has agreed to be bought by Japan’s Nippon Steel for $14.9 billion, must remain a domestically-owned American firm.
Harris and Biden appeared together at the Democratic National Convention and at a White House-planned event on Medicare drug price cuts last month, but this will be their first joint appearance at a campaign rally since she became the party’s nominee.
The event could be overshadowed by developments in the Middle East.
Over the weekend, Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza where it said they were recently killed by Hamas, sparking sharp criticism of the Biden administration’s ceasefire strategy and new pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring the remaining hostages home.
Biden told reporters on Monday he did not think Netanyahu was doing enough to secure a hostage deal.
The U.S. government, including Biden himself, has been trying to broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Some 1,200 Israelis were killed in Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7 according to Israeli tallies, while health authorities in Gaza say more than 40,000 Palestinians have died in the Israeli assault on the enclave.
The issue is weighing on the U.S. election, with pro-Palestinian activists threatening to ramp up protests against Harris on the campaign trail. Republicans meanwhile blame Biden and Harris for the hostage deaths.
The president and vice president were due to hold a meeting in the White House Situation Room on Monday with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team to discuss efforts toward a deal.
Afterwards Harris will hold a rally in Detroit, Michigan, before joining Biden in Pennsylvania, one of the most important battleground states in this election cycle.
Trump will participate in a FOX town hall on Wednesday hosted by Sean Hannity, and later this week will address the Fraternal Order of Police at their fall meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, and hold a rally in Wisconsin.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Harris was leading in the race against Trump 45% to 41%.
Harris and Walz are hoping to keep up the enthusiasm her entry into the race has sparked among Democrats, who are donating record amounts of money to the campaign and volunteering by the tens of thousands.
The Harris campaign has focused on an upbeat, positive message about America’s future, cost-cutting plans aimed at the middle class and attracting Republicans turned off by Trump.
Trump has sought to blame Harris for continued high food prices and illegal immigration, but his policy criticism has often been overshadowed by his demeaning comments about her intelligence and heritage and his amplifying of crude internet memes.
Harris’ campaign appears to be outraising Trump’s. Last week, the Harris campaign told the Federal Election Commission that it raised $204 million in July, compared with $48 million reported to the body by Trump’s main fundraising group.
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly and Jeff Mason; additional reporting by James Oliphant. Editing by Heather Timmons, Ross Colvin, Marguerita Choy and Deepa Babington)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content.