'You have no choice': Trump urges voters who don't like him to consider the alternative
WASHINGTON - Former President Donald Trump acknowledged Wednesday that a lot of voters don't like him - so he has to persuade them to be even more negative toward Vice President Kamala Harris.
""You can't take the chance! You have no choice! You've got to for me!" Trump said while discussing fracking during 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's no way I'm gonna vote for her!'"
The plea for votes from people who don't like him highlighted what Fox News billed as a Trump "town hall" In Harrisburg, Pa., although there were no questions from voters during the hour-long broadcast.
At one point, Trump appeared confused about who he is running against, saying he didn't understand how New Hampshire residents could vote for President Joe Biden, even though he withdrew from the race in July.
Other takeaways:
Gearing up for the debate
Trump previewed a big part of his strategy ahead of the debate scheduled for Tuesday: Attack Harris, and seek to drive down her approval ratings.
During his discussion about Harris, the former president attacked Harris over the economy, immigration, and foreign policy.
His request 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 took the chance to work the referees ahead of the debate, criticizing the sponsor - ABC News - over its political coverage.
Questioning ABC's fairness, Trump suggested that the network might give the Harris team questions in advance, though the rules strictly prohibit that. Trump made similar complaints about CNN before the June 27 debate with Biden.
Fox is scheduled to broadcast audience questions to Trump later in the week.
Emphasis on early voting
Trump continued to talk up early voting, which begins this month in several states, including Pennsylvania.
That includes mail-in voting, which Trump has opposed in the past. But mail-in balloting played a key role in President Joe Biden's victory in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
The Fox News event came as Harris continues to build leads in national polls, including a 48%-43% advantage over Trump in a new USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll.
Polls still show tight races in seven battleground states that will likely decide who wins the presidency in the Electoral College: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, and North Carolina.
'We're not weird'
Trump again continued to express frustration over one particular Democratic jab: That he and running mate JD Vance are simply "weird" guys.
Referring to Democratic running mate Tim Walz, Trump said: "There's something weird with that guy. He's a weird guy. JD is not weird. He's a solid rock. I happen to be a very solid rock. We're not weird. We're other things perhaps, but we're not weird."
Tight security
The threat of violence hangs over the campaign, from Wednesday's school shooting in Georgia to heightened security at political events after the July assassination attempt on Trump.
"Well, it's a sick and angry world for a lot of reasons," Trump said.
At another point, Trump said the campaign "is not easy. I got shot at. You know, I mean, I got hit. I got hit."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump: Vote for me 'even if you don't like me'