Kamala Harris says Trump will cut health programs if reelected

MADISON, Wisconsin (Reuters) -Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris warned voters on Thursday that Republican Donald Trump and his allies would scale back healthcare programs if he wins the White House and said his comments at a Wednesday rally were offensive to women.

In a brief press conference, Vice President Harris reminded voters that former President Trump had tried unsuccessfully to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, during his 2017-2021 presidency. 

"Healthcare for all Americans is on the line in this election," she told reporters in Madison, Wisconsin.

In response, Trump said he does not want to get rid of the program. "I never mentioned doing that, never even thought about such a thing," he posted on his Truth Social platform after she made the remark.

The 2010 Affordable Care Act provides coverage to roughly 40 million Americans as part of the country's patchwork of health insurance programs. A political liability for Democrats when it was signed into law in 2010, the law is now broadly popular with the public.

Opinion polls show a historically close contest between Harris and Trump, with the outcome of Tuesday's U.S. presidential election likely to be decided in seven battleground states.

Reuters/Ipsos polling in October found the race to be sharply divided along gender lines, with Harris leading among women by 12 percentage points and Trump leading among men by seven percentage points.

Harris has made abortion rights a cornerstone of her campaign, while Trump has vowed to dramatically scale back immigration.

"Whether the women like it or not, I've got to protect them. I'm going to protect them from migrants coming in. I'm going to protect them from foreign countries that want to hit us with missiles and Lots of other things," he said at a Wednesday rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Harris told reporters she found the "like it or not" comment to be offensive.

"It actually is, I think, very offensive to women in terms of not understanding their agency, their authority, their right and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies," she said.

Both Harris and Trump will campaign later in the day in Nevada, the smallest of the seven swing states.

A Harris rally in Las Vegas will feature singer Jennifer Lopez and Mexican pop rock band Mana, and another rally is scheduled later in Reno, Nevada. Trump will campaign in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas. 

VOTING UNDERWAY 

Nearly 61 million Americans have already voted, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida. 

Nevada's early voting results show promising results for Republicans so far, according to political commentator Jon Ralston.

Trump will also travel to New Mexico on Thursday, reflecting a late push to win states that were out of reach for him in 2020.

Harris and her running mate Tim Walz will also be in Phoenix, Arizona, another state both campaigns are fiercely vying to win. 

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Andy Sullivan, Stephanie Kelly and Alexandra Ulmer; Writing by Andy Sullivan and Costas Pitas; Editing by Scott Malone, Tom Hogue and Howard Goller)