America the Beautiful. 

The land of the free and the home of the brave. 

They’re playin’ my song. They know I’m gonna be okay (I’m gonna be okay). 

Yeah, it’s a party in the U.S.A.

For the last decade or so, it has not felt much like a party in the U.S.A. Perhaps as far back as the Bill Clinton era, the country has seemed unusually divided, uncommonly partisan. There have been fewer productive friendships across the aisle in Washington and a tangible lack of compassion and unity in communities from coast to coast.

Now, as Election Day looms right in front of us, the nation appears not merely disjointed, but virtually torn in half. And an inexorable truth remains: on November 5, or shortly thereafter, either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will be declared the winner of the presidential election.

Many voters will receive the news calmly. They will be variously pleased, or disappointed, or anxious, or relieved. They will await the new chapter in our history with curiosity and hope.

But millions of Americans will feel dismayed, even traumatized. They will dread the new administration, condemn their fellow voters, feel betrayed by their country, and be gripped by stress and despair. 

Here, then, is a reminder that we are all fellow countrypeople. We all belong here. We are all connected. On some fundamental levels, we all are on the same side –- and the same ride.

Plus, we do share some universal bonds. For example: 

Simone Biles. Pretty amazing, no? Inspirational, magical, and charming, she makes us all proud.

Travis and Taylor. Maybe you don’t care about football, maybe you aren’t a Swiftie or even a fan of Taylor Swift’s music, maybe you want your celebrity couples to be politics-free. But c’mon. TNT is a fabulous only-in-America show.

How about ‘Friends,’ another fabulous show. Who doesn’t love ‘Friends’?

Hawaii and Alaska. Two of the most spectacular places on the whole planet. Both in America! Not to mention the Maine coast, the Oregon coast, the Florida Keys, the Great Lakes, the farmers around the country who feed us, the oceans that border and protect us, the home-grown musicians who lift us up, Hollywood, New Orleans, Big Sur, the Big Apple, the Grand Ole Opry, the Grand Canyon, the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, the Boston Freedom Trail, Lin Manuel Miranda, Dolly Parton, Mel Brooks, Jackson Pollock, Nora Ephron, Jennifer Garner, Adam Sandler, and Muhammad Ali. 

That’s America. The greatest country on earth. Can you believe how lucky we are to live here and vote here? Even with all our problems, our past afflictions, our present clashes, our future challenges. 

We don’t agree on everything. We never will. But we need to find room for nuance, sensitivity, and common ground.

With the election outcome nearly upon us, there is still time for voters to prepare for the result, which might be crushing or exciting, and could provoke strong reactions from neighbors, co-workers, friends or family. Some citizens might be baffled, distraught, or face an existential crisis. On Election Day, there will be cheers and sobs, gloating and consolation, celebration and mourning. And after it all subsides, on January 20, 2025, there will be a new president in the White House and life will go on.

So, as a public service, here are the five truths each side should know in order to understand the other tribe and be ready to accept the result, reconcile, and move forward as a united country, no matter what.

Not necessarily because they deplore all progressive, left-leaning, or Democratic-style principles, but because they have systematically been driven away from the Democratic Party by a culture they deem unfair, unsafe, and even un-American: a media they perceive as so biased as to be untrustworthy; woke trends in schools, higher learning, and the workplace that can create more discrimination than equity; troubling rhetoric about Israel from Democratic leaders that they fear could jeopardize the American-Israel alliance, stability in the Middle East, and the safety of Jews in the United States; and aggressive machinations against Trump from Democrats such as Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., that they feel have cracked appropriate boundaries of political power. 

Many Reds remain deeply troubled by Trump’s conduct and attitude during the storming of the Capitol, but they file January 6th along with Trump’s other irrational and self-centered choices, as part of the egocentric, outsized package that is Donald Trump. Their grocery bills are high. Their kids need braces. Their parents are aging. They have other priorities.

Throughout much of the 2024 presidential race, Trump has been wrestling with criminal indictments and civil actions, both state and federal, ranging from falsifying business transactions to mishandling classified documents to fallout from the 2020 election dispute. Some voters find the facts and timing of the indictments themselves to be worse than any Trump wrongdoing, and that the one way for them to send a clear message about their distaste for an abuse of the legal system is to vote for the former president.  

Everything costs more these days, and it is tough to make ends meet. They may be sympathetic to individuals and families crossing the border to find a better life, but now their own kids don’t have a desk to sit at in a school that is newly crowded with illegal immigrants. Their hometown needs more money to fix its roads and parks and public buildings, yet they watch as billions in tax dollars are allocated to Ukraine and the Middle East. They think if Trump wins, he will do a better job as president addressing their own everyday concerns. And to be clear, they do in fact appreciate the complexities and ramifications of pregnancy and abortion, and the potential for agonizing choices and risks.

They are not all MAGA-hat wearing, gun-toting, Trump disciples. Each Red voter is an individual with distinct needs, interests, and experiences. Some adore Donald Trump, and think he’s a hero and the greatest president who has ever lived. Some consider him a bit of a blowhard but prefer his administrative positions to those of Harris. Some think he’s an iconoclast who loves to push buttons and break the stateman’s mold, while still getting the job done. Some find him hilarious. Some find him maddening. Some find him downright unappealing, but think he will be better for their family’s long-term financial prospects, so will hold their noses and their wallets when they vote. Some are more comfortable with Trump, a person they know, the bad and the good, than with Harris, a candidate they feel they still haven’t gotten a chance to fully apprehend. Some have family members, children, spouses, best friends, bosses, and employees who will vote for the other candidate.

Really, really upset. Devastated. Many Blues consider Donald Trump to be an utterly loathsome, irredeemable, crude, dangerous, despicable soul. Furthermore, they think he’s not intellectually, spiritually, or attitudinally prepared to do the job. They hate him personally, they are embarrassed to have him represent the nation, the thought of his success is a torment. This level of pure abhorrence may seem to the Reds to be hyperbolic, misguided, overblown. But it is the reality in which the Blues operate, and many could deliver an excellent and convincing Ted Talk on the topic. If Trump beats Harris, they will need compassion, space to grieve, maybe a reassuring pat on the shoulder or hug.

To them, Donald Trump placed his own interests above the wellbeing of the nation, an unforgivable breach of his central duty as president. As former Vice President Mike Pence stated, ‘President Trump asked me to put himself over my oath to the Constitution. Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.’ To these Blues, this sentiment is neither a luxury nor a pretense. It is a core conviction, an existential urgency.

They view this intel as revelatory and frightening, and note that the sheer number of former Trump intimates who have spoken out on the record is unprecedented. To them, these insider insights are a vindication of their own personal fears and an urgent warning to the nation against a second Trump term.

The Dobbs decision in 2022 created a visceral and emotional earthquake in their views on the rights, protection, and quality of life for women in America. And to be clear, they do understand the complexities and ramifications of pregnancy and abortion, and the potential for agonizing choices and risks.

Some admire Kamala Harris for her accomplishments, her charisma, her empathy. They like her record and her resume. They want to vote for her as a political leader, not just as a woman and person of color. They don’t uniformly prioritize the rights of immigrants, transgender individuals, and foreign entities over the rights of all other American civilians. Some of them think Trump is fun and funny, a good showman. They are not all knee-jerk, bleeding heart, yellow dogs. Some of them own guns, love country music, and fly the American flag on their lawn. Some have family members, children, spouses, best friends, bosses, and employees who will vote for the other candidate.

So hang in there, America. We are and will remain one nation. Please take comfort in that.

And if that doesn’t work, just remember that this too shall pass. Put your feet up and instruct Alexa or Siri to play the little ditty ‘For Now,’ from the Tony Award-winning (albeit decidedly R-rated) musical comedy, ‘Avenue Q,’ which debuted back in 2003, in the midst of the 2004 presidential campaign that ultimately saw George W. Bush reelected. (Note to readers: insert either ‘Donald Trump’ or ‘Kamala Harris’ into the ‘George Bush’ line): 

Everyone’s a little bit unsatisfied.

Everyone goes ’round a little empty inside.

Take a breath,

Look around,

Swallow your pride,

For now…

Nothing lasts,

Life goes on,

Full of surprises.

You’ll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes.

You’re going to have to make a few compromises…

For now…

But only for now! 

For now we’re happy…

If not overjoyed.

And we’ll accept the things we cannot avoid, for now…

Only for now!

For now there’s life!

For now there’s love!

For now there’s work!

For now there’s happiness!

For now discomfort!

For now there’s friendship!

Is only for now! 

Your hair is only for now! 

George Bush is only for now!

Don’t stress,

Relax,

Let life roll off your backs

Except for death and paying taxes,

Everything in life is only for now!

Each time you smile…

It’ll only last a while.

Life may be scary…

But it’s only temporary

Everything in life is only for now.

With less than two weeks until Election Day, the Trump campaign is giving its closing message to voters: Vice President Harris ‘broke it’ and former President Trump ‘will fix it,’ officials told Fox News Digital as they previewed their strategy for the final stretch. 

Fox News Digital spoke exclusively with Trump campaign officials about the former president’s strategy to rally supporters to the ballot box on Nov. 5, or before, by focusing heavily on the economy and the crisis at the southern border.

‘Kamala Harris for the last four years has wrecked the economy and the border,’ Trump campaign senior advisor Tim Murtaugh told Fox News Digital. ‘Donald Trump will fix both of them.’ 

Murtaugh said that ‘the beauty of this election cycle is that everybody who is going to vote has lived through the Trump years and the Harris years.’

‘They have experienced both administrations. When Trump was president, the economy was fantastic, inflation was nonexistent, the border was secure, and the world was at peace,’ Murtaugh said. ‘By contrast, under Harris’ leadership, the economy is in shambles, inflation is still sky-high, our border has been erased, and the world, at large, is on fire.’

Trump has relentlessly hammered home that message in stop after stop as he crisscrosses the country campaigning in the final weeks of the cycle, something his campaign believes has given him momentum over the vice president who they say has largely shifted her message to attacking the former president.

‘Trump is talking about solving problems for Americans while Kamala Harris is focused exclusively on attacking him,’ a campaign official told Fox News Digital.

Harris on Tuesday accused Trump of seeking ‘unchecked power’ and being ‘unhinged and unstable.’

But the Trump campaign said the former president is ‘asking people to vote for something, while she is asking for people to vote against something.’ 

‘He is selling optimism and positive messages to fix the problems she and President Biden created,’ a campaign official said. 

The latest Fox News Poll shows Trump ahead of Harris 50% to 48% nationally.

‘Donald Trump is leading all the battleground states, and the momentum and polling averages continue to move in his direction,’ Murtaugh said, citing national trends.

Campaign officials pointed to ads being run in the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin by vulnerable incumbent Democrats who have sought to distance themselves from Harris.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., is running an ad in the Keystone State highlighting how he ‘bucked Biden’ and ‘sided with’ Trump while painting the Democrat senator as an ‘independent.’ The ad features a Republican woman and her Democrat husband and does not once mention Harris. 

Similar ads featuring Trump are running in Wisconsin for Sen. Tammy Baldwin and in Michigan for Sen. Elissa Slotkin.

‘Democrat Senate candidates are spending Democrat donor money promoting Donald Trump in the Blue Wall battleground states,’ an official said.

And the latest USA Today/Suffolk University poll also showed Trump leading by a margin with a key group: Latino voters. Trump is leading Harris by 11 percentage points in that critical voting bloc. 

‘But the polls are only theoretical election results and polls don’t win races. Actual votes win elections, and that’s why we’re continuing to accelerate,’ Murtaugh added. ‘And we’ll run through the tape on Election Day.’ 

The Trump campaign said it is confident they have the ‘momentum.’

‘President Trump will be relentless and tireless,’ an official told Fox News Digital. ‘He’ll be barnstorming the country — rinse and repeat — over and over and over again until Election Day.’ 

Trump held events in battleground Georgia on Tuesday, holding a massive rally with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, country music singer Jason Aldean and former collegiate athlete Riley Gaines.

Trump this week made a campaign stop at a McDonald’s location in Pennsylvania to mock Harris for claiming that she once worked at the fast-food chain.

‘The McDonald’s trip was an encapsulation of his positive message,’ an official said. ‘He is a cheerful, optimistic guy who knows he can fix it. And what was the Harris campaign’s reaction? They mocked it.’ 

The Harris campaign blasted that campaign stop as a ‘staged photo-op,’ saying Trump ‘doesn’t understand what it’s like to work for a living’ and that the vice president ‘has a record of standing up for workers and taking on bad actors who rip people off, and she’ll do the same as President.’

The next scheduled stops for Trump include major campaign rallies in Tempe, Arizona; Las Vegas; Traverse City, Michigan; Novi, Michigan; State College, Pennsylvania; and then a massive rally on Sunday at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Campaign officials said the former president will continue to engage with the press and sit for major media interviews. On Friday, Trump will be interviewed for the Joe Rogan podcast. Rogan has 17 million subscribers on YouTube and 14 million on Spotify. 

And his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, will also continue engaging with the media and has already held major campaign events this week in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada. In the coming days, Vance will be in Waterford, Michigan, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

But Trump campaign surrogates are also hosting major events, including Donald Trump Jr. campaigning in battleground states; a Trump campaign bus tour; and Women for Trump visiting areas damaged by recent hurricanes.

Even Dr. Phil and RFK Jr. are joining forces to host a ‘Make America Healthy Again’ event in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

And Trump campaign officials expressed the importance of early voting and are encouraging their supporters to ‘vote by any way they possibly can.’ 

‘Whether they vote by mail, vote early in person, vote on Election Day, we want them to make a plan to vote,’ an official said. ‘We need people to show up. And we are getting to the point where persuasion is almost over, and now we are getting to turnout.’ 

Meanwhile, Harris’ campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Harris, though, is expected to deliver what’s being described as a major ‘closing argument’ address next Tuesday – one week until Election Day – on the Ellipse, which is just south of the White House and north of the National Mall. The Harris campaign spotlighted that then-President Trump headlined a large rally of supporters at the Ellipse on Jan 6, 2021.

Her campaign this week also announced a new concert series featuring Bruce Springsteen and former President Obama, while the Democratic National Committee launched a new Taylor Swift-themed, get-out-the-vote campaign for young voters. 

As for President Biden, he’s largely stayed off the campaign trail as Harris alternates between promising to continue the policies and vision of the Biden-Harris administration while also promising to bring ‘a new way forward.’ 

But on Tuesday, Biden weighed in. 

‘We got to lock him up,’ Biden said of Trump. However, the president quickly added, ‘Politically lock him up, lock him out. That’s what we have to do.’ 

A Trump campaign official reacted, telling Fox News Digital that ‘for four years, it has been clear to the American people that the Biden-Harris administration has been using the weight of the federal government to go after Donald Trump and his supporters.’ 

The official added, ‘Two weeks before the election, Joe Biden finally confirmed it.’

The House Judiciary Committee celebrated a ‘big win’ this week after a Japanese company said it would not pursue a plan that would reorganize or create a new version of an advertising association that allegedly engaged in censorship and boycotts of conservative media companies. 

‘Following the Committee’s inquiry into Dentsu potentially creating the new ‘GARM,’ Dentsu expresses to the committee that it WILL NOT pursue the ‘Dentsu Coalition’ initiative,’ the committee said. ‘They will not pursue any other effort with similar aims.’ 

The committee touted it as a ‘BIG WIN!’ in a post on X.

The committee first began investigating the World Federation of Advertisers and its Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) initiative. Dentsu was a founding member. 

The committee found ‘collusive activity’ of GARM, and it was ultimately disbanded. 

When operational, GARM was an association of advertisers, advertising agencies, online platforms and advertising tech companies that publicly said they were creating standards for media advertising. But privately, the House Judiciary Committee revealed, GARM was discussing ways to ensure conservative news outlets and platforms could not receive advertising dollars and were engaged in boycotts of conservative voices and Twitter once it became ‘X’ under the ownership of Elon Musk. 

Musk and video-sharing platform Rumble ultimately sued GARM for illegally boycotting companies, including X. Shortly after, it was disbanded. 

The House Judiciary Committee this month sent a letter to Japanese company Dentsu as part of its oversight of the adequacy and enforcement of U.S. antitrust laws. 

The committee then learned Dentsu was beginning the process of starting a new coalition — the Dentsu Coalition — of the world’s largest marketers with ‘striking similarities to GARM.’ The Dentsu Coalition was expected to be ‘aimed at fostering substantial and sustainable investments in credible news.’

Dentsu, though, replied this week, vowing to stop its reorganization.

‘Dentsu appreciates the opportunity to allay any concerns that the recently announced research project with The 614 Group gives rise to any anticompetitive issues, constitutes any kind of effort to revive the now-disbanded Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), or was intended to do anything other than promote all forms of journalism,’ general counsel of Dentsu, Susan Zoch, wrote to committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. 

‘Recognizing the confusion that has surfaced surrounding the initiative, Dentsu has elected not to pursue the initiative referred to as the ‘Dentsu Coalition’ and further not to pursue any effort with similar aims,’ Zoch said. 

Zoch said the ‘goal’ of researching the new project was to ‘provide insights for advertisers and the full spectrum of the news industry on how best to optimize their ad spend in news and the potential for increased ad spend in news.’ 

‘From Dentsu’s perspective, the success of the initiative depended on the support (financially or otherwise) of all stakeholders in news — advertisers and all facets of the publishing industry,’ Zoch wrote. 

‘To be clear, Dentsu did not intend or understand that the initiative would replace or succeed GARM,’ she continued, saying public reporting on its initiative was ‘mischaracterized.’

A new national poll is the latest to indicate former President Trump with an edge over Vice President Harris in the race to succeed President Biden in the White House.

Trump grabs 47% support among likely voters nationwide, with Harris at 45%, according to a Wall Street Journal survey released on Wednesday evening – on a ballot that also includes third-party and independent candidates.

That’s a switch from the Journal’s previous national survey – conducted in late August – which indicated Harris with a two point edge.

The former president’s advantage is within the new survey’s margin-of-error, which means that either Trump or the vice president could potentially be leading the race. 

The Wall Street Journal poll – of 1,500 registered voters questioned Oct. 19-22 – also shows Trump holding a three-point margin (49%-46%) over Harris in a head-to-head match up.

The survey indicates views of Harris have turned more negative since August, with her favorable rating eight points underwater and her approval rating as vice president at 42%-54%. Meanwhile, views of Trump have improved, with voters approving of his past performance in the White House by a 52%-48% margin.

The new poll follows a Fox News national survey conducted Oct. 11-14 and released last week that indicated the Republican presidential nominee with a two-point edge over the Democratic Party standard-bearer.

Many other national surveys in the field the past two weeks, including polls from CBS News, Marist, and USA Today/Suffolk University, have indicated Harris with a slight advantage over Trump. But the polls are mostly within the margin of error.

Harris replaced a faltering President Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket on July 21, and instantly experienced a surge in fundraising and a rise in her poll numbers.

Harris enjoyed the edge over Trump in most national polling amid the Democratic National Convention in late August and the first and only debate between the vice president and the former president, in early September.

But many national surveys conducted in late September and October have pointed to Trump making gains at the expense of Harris.

The latest Fox News poll results [Trump with 50% support and Harris at 48%] were a reversal from last month, when the vice president had the edge.

‘Overall, the movement toward Trump is subtle but potentially consequential, especially if he is making gains among college-educated voters,’ said veteran Democratic pollster Chris Anderson, who conducts Fox News surveys with Republican Daron Shaw. ‘However, the race has been well within the margin of error for three months and the outcome will likely hinge on which side is more effective at getting their voters to the polls as opposed to persuasion.’ 

While national polls are helpful, the race for the White House is not based on the national popular vote, and instead is a battle for the states and their electoral votes.

And the latest surveys in the seven crucial battleground states whose razor-thin margins decided President Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump and will likely determine whether Harris or Trump wins the 2024 election are mostly within the margin-of-error.

The Fox News poll indicated Harris with a six-point advantage over Trump among respondents questioned in all seven battleground states.

While polls point to a race within the margins, in the dash for campaign cash – another key metric in presidential politics – Harris is the clear front-runner.

The vice president entered the final full month of the campaign with a massive financial advantage over the former president, according to the latest federal fundraising filings.

The Harris campaign hauled in $221.8 million in September, according to the filings, more than triple the $63 million brought in by the Trump campaign last month.

Harris has vastly outraised and outspent Trump the past few months, and that trend continued in September. The largest expense by the Harris campaign was for paid media – mostly to run ads.

But the vice president still enjoyed a large cash-on-hand advantage over Trump entering October.  

The Harris campaign reported $187 million in its coffers at the end of September, compared to $119 million for the Trump campaign.

The fundraising totals reported by the two major party campaigns don’t include additional money raked in by the two national party committees, other affiliated organizations – both campaigns use a slew of affiliated fundraising committees to haul in cash – or aligned super-PACs supporting Harris and Trump.