Harris and Trump's final push before Election Day brings them to the same patch of Pennsylvania

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump made their final pitches to voters Monday in the same parts of Pennsylvania at roughly the same time, focusing on the state that could make or break their chances during the last full day of the presidential campaign.

In Pittsburgh, Trump delivered what his campaign aides described as his closing argument after his previous attempt — a mass rally at Madison Square Garden in New York -- was derailed by crude and racist jokes. He has also veered off message with falsehoods about voter fraud and invocations of violence.

“Over the past four years, Americans have suffered one catastrophic failure, betrayal and humiliation after another,” said the Republican nominee, sounding raspy yet energetic after speaking for hours each day.

“We do not have to settle for weakness, incompetence, decline and decay,” he went on. “With your vote tomorrow, we can fix every single problem our country faces and lead America, and indeed the whole world, to new heights of glory.”

The crowd exploded in cheers when the Republican nominee said the country should tell Harris, “You’re fired,” his catchphrase from “The Apprentice,” the reality television show that made him a nationally recognized star.

Trump started Monday in North Carolina and he's scheduled to hold his last rally of the election in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he concluded his 2016 and 2020 campaigns.

Harris, the Democratic nominee, is spending all of Monday in Pennsylvania, and she was en route to Pittsburgh while Trump was speaking there. She's holding her final rally in Philadelphia later in the evening.

“This is it,” Harris said in Pittsburgh in front of the Carrie Furnaces, a historic steel facility that nodded to the city's industrial legacy. “Tomorrow is Election Day and the momentum is on our side.”

“We must finish strong,” she added. “Make no mistake, we will win.”

With 19 Electoral College votes, the state is the biggest prize of any battleground. A Trump victory there would puncture the Democrats' “blue wall” and make it harder for Harris to win the necessary 270 votes.

“If we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole ball of wax,” Trump said during an event in Reading, in the state's southeast corner.

Both candidates visited the area, which is home to thousands of Latinos, including a sizable Puerto Rican population. Harris and her allies have repeatedly hit Trump for a comedian's dig at Puerto Rico during the former president's marquee Madison Square Garden event. The comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe, referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”

“It was absurd,” said German Vega, a Dominican American who lives in Reading and became a U.S. citizen in 2015. “It bothered so many people — even many Republicans. It wasn’t right, and I feel that Trump should have apologized to Latinos.”

But Emilio Feliciano, 43, waited outside Reading’s Santander Arena for a chance to take a photo of Trump’s motorcade. He dismissed the comments about Puerto Rico despite his family being Puerto Rican, saying he cares about the economy and that’s why he will vote for Trump.

“Is the border going to be safe? Are you going to keep crime down? That’s what I care about,” he said.

Harris told the crowd, “I stand here proud of my long-standing commitment to Puerto Rico and her people."

“And I will be a president for all Americans," she said, adding that “momentum is on our side. Can you feel it?”

Trump, meanwhile, stuck to talking about his proposed crackdown on immigration. He called to the stage Patty Morin, the mother of 37-year-old Rachel Morin, who was found dead a day after she went missing during a trip to go hiking. Officials say the suspect in her death, Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, entered the U.S. illegally after allegedly killing a woman in his home country of El Salvador.

About 77 million Americans have voted early. A victory by either side would be unprecedented.

Trump winning would make him the first incoming president to have been indicted and convicted of a felony, after his hush-money trial in New York. He will gain the power to end other federal investigations pending against him. Trump would also become only the second president in history to win nonconsecutive White House terms, after Grover Cleveland in the late 19th century.

Harris is vying to become the first woman, first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to reach the Oval Office — four years after she broke the same barriers in national office by becoming President Joe Biden’s second in command.

Heading into Monday, Harris has mostly stopped mentioning Trump by name, calling him instead “the other guy.” She is promising to solve problems and seek consensus.

Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said on a call with reporters that not saying Trump’s name was deliberate because voters “want to see in their leader an optimistic, hopeful, patriotic vision for the future.”

Harris also offered some insights into her personal formation as a politician that she doesn't often divulge. In Scranton, she talked about once being a longshot while running for San Francisco district attorney in 2002 and how she “used to campaign with my ironing board.”

“I’d walk to the front of the grocery store, outside, and I would stand up my ironing board because, you see, an ironing board makes a really great standing desk,” the vice president said, recalling how she would tape her posters to the outside of the board, fill the top with flyers and “require people to talk to me as they walked in and out.”

In Allentown, Harris rallied with rapper Fat Joe. She then made her own visit to Reading after Trump's rally had concluded, visiting Old San Juan Cafe, a Puerto Rican restaurant, with Ocasio-Cortez. Both Fat Joe, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, and Ocasio-Cortez are of Puerto Rican heritage.

Supporters chanted “Sí se puede” and “Kamala” as the vice president’s motorcade pulled up. Once inside, Harris chatted with some diners, even mixing in “Gracias” and a few Spanish words. The vice president later ordered cassava, yellow rice and pork, saying, “I'm very hungry" as she noted that she's been too busy campaigning to find time for many meals.

Harris did some of her own canvassing afterward, stopping at two homes in Reading while flanked by campaign volunteers.

“It’s the day before the election and I just wanted to come by and say I hope to earn your vote," she said at one house.

The woman replied, “You already got my vote" and said her husband would be casting his ballot the next day.

Standing in line for Harris’ Allentown rally, 54-year-old Ron Kessler, an Air Force veteran and Republican-turned-Democrat, said he planned to vote for just the second time in his life. Kessler said that, for a long time, he didn’t vote, thinking the country “would vote for the correct candidate.”

But “now that I’m older and much more wiser, I believe it’s important, it’s my civic duty. And it’s important that I vote for myself and I vote for the democracy and the country.”

Superville reported from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Barrow reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Makiya Seminera in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Zeke Miller, Will Weissert and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Carrie Blast Furnaces in Pittsburgh, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Carrie Blast Furnaces in Pittsburgh, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally at PPG Paints Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at PPG Paints Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, second left, and two campaign volunteers, right, speak to a voter as Harris knocks on doors during a campaign stop in Reading, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, from right, visits Old San Juan Cafe restaurant with restaurant owner Diana de La Rosa and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., during a campaign stop in Reading, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, from right, visits Old San Juan Cafe restaurant with restaurant owner Diana de La Rosa and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., during a campaign stop in Reading, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, from right, visits Old San Juan Cafe restaurant with restaurant owner Diana de La Rosa and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., during a campaign stop in Reading, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Rapper Fat Joe speaks at a campaign rally for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Memorial Hall at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Memorial Hall at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

From left, Lara Trump, Michael Boulos, and Eric Trump leave the stage as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Santander Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Attendees holding the flag of Puerto Rico listen as Allentown, Pa. Mayor Matt Tuerk speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Memorial Hall at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Supporters listen as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Santander Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump embraces Patty Morin, mother of Rachel Morin, during a campaign rally at Santander Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Supporters cheer as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Memorial Hall at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Supporters cheer as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Santander Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump dances during a campaign rally at Santander Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Supporters cheer as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Memorial Hall at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Memorial Hall at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Santander Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

A supporter arrives before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Santander Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Chelsey Salama, right, hands out fliers while volunteering with the Abandon Harris movement encouraging voters to choose Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Supporters arrive before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Santander Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Montage Mountain Resort in Scranton, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Attendees holding the flag of Puerto Rico cheer as Allentown, Pa. Mayor Matt Tuerk speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Memorial Hall at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

An image of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump hangs in the window of a campaign office as a pedestrian passes by, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Hamtramck, Mich. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she boards Air Force Two at Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport in Scranton, Pa., Monday Nov. 4, 2024, en route to Allentown, Pa. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Montage Mountain Resort in Scranton, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at J.S. Dorton Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Women for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump show their support as he arrives to speak during a campaign rally at J.S. Dorton Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives on Air Force Two at Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport in Scranton, Pa., Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at J.S. Dorton Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump waves as he wraps up a campaign rally at J.S. Dorton Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump wraps up a campaign rally at J.S. Dorton Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump wraps up a campaign rally at J.S. Dorton Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump wraps up a campaign rally at J.S. Dorton Arena, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she boards Air Force Two at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Detroit, Monday Nov. 4, 2024, en route to Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she walks to board Air Force Two at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Detroit, Monday Nov. 4, 2024, en route to Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with reporters on board Air Force Two at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Detroit, Monday Nov. 4, 2024, before departing to Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with reporters on board Air Force Two at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Detroit, Monday Nov. 4, 2024, before departing to Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

This combination of photos shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, speaking at a campaign event Sept. 25, 2024, in Mint Hill, N.C., and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, right, speaking a campaign event Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Kinston Regional Jetport, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Kinston, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump smiles at a campaign rally at Kinston Regional Jetport, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Kinston, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak during a campaign rally at Jenison Field House on the campus of Michigan State University, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Jenison Field House on the campus of Michigan State University, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Jenison Field House on the campus of Michigan State University, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A supporter wears decorative Converse sneakers on a necklace as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at Jenison Field House on the campus of Michigan State University, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Supporters listen as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks campaign rally at Kinston Jet Center, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Kinston, N.C. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump is reflected in the bullet proof glass as he finishes speaking at a campaign rally in Lititz, Pa., Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris shake hands before the start of an ABC News presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Gerrit Cole gave up his opt-out right on Monday and will remain with the New York Yankees under a contract that runs through 2028 rather than become a free agent.

New York's ace initially exercised his right to terminate the $324 million, nine-year deal, which has $144 million and four years remaining. That decision triggered a two-day window for the Yankees to add a $36 million salary for 2029, which would void the opt out.

Given the short time frame after the team's World Series-ending loss Wednesday night, both sides extended the bargaining period until 5 p.m. EST Monday, the deadline for option decisions in the collective bargaining agreement. As the deadline approached, both sides agreed to rescind their rights and worked out the language with Major League Baseball and the players' association.

“Maybe the grass isn't always greener,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “I think he’s happy where he's at. I think he likes our setup. I think he likes playing for who he’s playing for and working for. And I think he likes his teammates. And I think he thinks we have a legitimate chance to win.”

Cashman said the talks included himself, Cole, agent Scott Boras, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner and team president Randy Levine.

“Gerrit and Hal have built a close relationship, and remaining a Yankee was important to both,” Boras said in an email to The Associated Press. “All understood further time was needed to advance discussions.”

Cashman said Cole's "career hopefully will finish with the Yankees. Whether that’s at the end of this contract or anything in the future, we can still talk through that. But the most important thing is, the biggest first step is we have our ace back and we’re excited about that.”

A 34-year-old right-hander, Cole won the 2023 AL Cy Young Award. His 2024 season didn’t start until June 19 because of nerve irritation and edema in his right elbow. The six-time All-Star went 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts, and then was 1-0 with a 2.17 ERA in five postseason starts.

Cashman said Cole didn't need any medical procedures and New York hopes he is healthy.

“But how many pitchers are, right?” Cashman said. “I’ll go through the free agent meetings and I’ll go through all the players in the marketplace that are over a certain age and they’re all going to have their warts and some pitch with them and some can’t pitch with them. But he's obviously made us feel really good about how he came back.”

Cole's decision gives the Yankees six potential rotation returnees, a group that includes Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil, Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman.

In addition, the Yankees made a $21.05 million qualifying offer to outfielder Juan Soto, who is certain to reject it, but did not make one to second baseman Gleyber Torres. New York would not get draft-pick compensation if Torres signs elsewhere.

Cashman said the club is not averse to including deferred compensation in contracts. Yankees deals have generally not included that.

“We’re open to deferrals,” he said. “A lot of times players are less open to doing deferrals for us than they are for maybe other markets. But if we can do stuff that benefits us, of course we will.”

Cashman spoke to reporters for the first time since the Yankees wasted a five-run, fifth-inning lead against the Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series, when center fielder Aaron Judge and Gold Glove shortstop Anthony Volpe made errors and Cole didn't cover first base on a pivotal play.

“This team obviously wasn’t the best defensive team that we’ve had, clearly. And this team also had obviously made some baserunning mistakes, but obviously the Game 5 situation was involving players that ultimately are really, really good," Cashman said. “Aaron Judge catches a flyball a billion times out of a billion.

“The Dodgers won the World Series and I congratulate them,” he added. “I wish we gave them our best shot but you only have a small window to do that. We earned the right to get there but we didn’t play our best baseball while there and we got sent home.”

Also on Monday, the Yankees traded outfielder Taylor Trammell to Houston for cash. The 27-year-old was 1 for 1 with a walk in five games with New York this year and 0 for 6 in five games with the Dodgers. The Yankees claimed him off waivers in mid-April and he hit .256 with 18 homers, 63 RBIs and 20 stolen bases for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. New York also assigned outfielder Duke Ellis outright to the RailRiders.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)