US Election Diary: A fox, a garden and a werewolf

Morning all, three weeks to go and we’re on the home run. Or final stretch. TV presenters here are constantly mixing sports metaphors in an effort to describe just how close and tense things are right now.

Early voting in many places is already underway. I’ve been spending a lot of time this week with voters of all stripes, having conversations about why they think their candidate is the right one to lead the nation, and the world. Lots to come soon on 1News and TVNZ+.

Sitting down in what many consider the lion's den, Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris joined Fox News for a one-on-one interview with Brett Baier. At times resembling more of a debate than an interview (which was certainly entertaining to watch), Harris faced a wide range of questions.

In particular, she faced some tough questions around immigration - a massive political issue here.

There was mixed opinion over whether is was a win or lose for Harris - and predictably it depends on the party affiliation of the person you speak to.

“We feel like we definitely achieved what we set out to achieve in the sense that she was able to reach an audience that has probably been not exposed to the arguments she’s been making on the trail and she also got to show her toughness in standing tall against a hostile interviewer,” Brian Fallon, a Harris campaign adviser, told reporters afterwards.

Meanwhile, JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, described it as “bizzare” (also remember the Democrats made a thing of calling Vance “weird” - so perhaps the real winner of this election is the English language? Anyway…).

"She says, ‘Well, you know, [Trump's] been talking about politics for 10 years,’" Vance told Fox. "What is it in the mind of this person that can’t just acknowledge that she has been in power for three-and-a-half years and bears some responsibility as the sitting Vice President for the condition the country is in?"

Trump will soon join the ranks of Elvis Presley, John Lennon, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Madonna, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, The Who, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift.

What ranks you ask? Well, the people who have headlined their own event at the most famous arena in the world - Madison Square Garden.

Despite the fact that New York is a Democratic stronghold, Trump will be holding a rally in New York’s glittering midtown, a short subway away from the bright lights of Broadway.

Trump, of course, was born in New York. He also was convicted of serious crimes there too. Nevertheless, you can bet the MAGA faithful will put on a show.

There have been efforts to troll the event, including by people urging others on social media to reserve tickets with no intention of turning up, trying to ensure there will be large swathes of empty seats in the arena.

I would be very surprised if that works though, as I know from experience that your reserved “tickets” don’t actually mean anything - it’s all first-in first-served. In fact the last time I attended a Trump rally no one checked if I’d reserved them at all.

It will be interesting to see if Trump can fill the arena, which has a capacity of about 19,000.

According to the Ash Centre, his rallies average around 5,600.

The rally is set to take place on the last weekend of October. 1News will be there.

We all know the best part of voting is getting the “I VOTED” sticker (which I think NZ ran out of in the last election? I cast my vote in New York and we had plenty!)

Of course because the US is a big country made up of a lot of small parts, every area has its own “I VOTED” sticker.

The best one is this one below by a Michigan student, featuring a werewolf tearing its shirt off in front of an American flag.

If that doesn’t inspire patriotism, I don’t know what will.

I’m asked this a lot - why should NZ care about who wins the US election? And it’s a good question.

Of course, you and I Kiwis have no say in anything here. But America is our neighbour - in all meanings of the word. They are a close friend, yes, but also geographically share our backyard with a whopping great economy and military.

Decisions made in the White House have a ripple effect around the world - Just watch a 1News bulletin and you will almost definitely see at least one story where the influence of the US is revealed. The conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East come to mind straight away.

One of things I’ve been doing a deep dive into is our trade relationship - and this week in New York I met the owners of a very well known Kiwi business in an industry where the overwhelmingly biggest export market is the US. And if trade policy changes in America, that could have a huge effect on New Zealand businesses - and ultimately kiwi consumers. Check out TVNZ+ and 1News this Sunday night for more on this.