It’s rare for Donald Trump to deliver the same message as Barack Obama and Joe Biden — but it happened when a Republican and two Democrats campaigned on the same day in Pennsylvania.
All political foes urged Americans in key states: Vote.
Mr Biden and Mr Obama cast the election as a battle for democracy, while Mr Trump said the country’s safety and security was at stake.
Tuesday’s US midterm elections will determine control of Congress.
All 435 seats of the House of Representatives are contested while 35 seats of the Senate are up for grabs.
In Pennsylvania, a razor-thin margin separated Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman, 53, from Republican Mehmet Oz, 62. An appearance by two former presidents and President Biden in the final weekend before the election signaled the importance of the state.
Mr Trump’s victory in Pennsylvania helped propel him to the White House in 2016, after his message of populist anger struck a chord with the state’s blue-collar voters.
Pragmatism and anti-liberal politics sentiment in urban centers returned him to the Democrats in 2020, when Mr. Biden won his home state by less than 2 percentage points.
Speaking in Philadelphia on Saturday, Mr. Biden declared that it was “good to be home” as he stumped Mr. Fetterman and Josh Shapiro, the Democratic candidates for governor.
He warned the crowd that failure to return Democratic majorities in the House and Senate would mean further restrictions on abortion rights and cuts to public health care.
Although Democrats currently hold both houses of Congress, according to polls, they are expected to lose the House and are in the heat for control of the Senate.
“Here in Philadelphia, a place that defines the spirit of America, today we face a turning point,” Mr. Biden said. He said a vote for Democrats would be a vote for women’s health, gun control and health care.
Outside the rally, voters quickly lined up to see two presidents — Mr. Biden and his Democratic predecessor, Mr. Obama — on the same stage.
Steve Phillips, from Pennsylvania, told JEE News that he hoped it would get people to vote, regardless of which party they supported.
But some in the crowd acknowledged that it was really Mr. Obama they had come to see, and that if Mr. Biden had been here alone, he might not have come.
The midterm elections are often seen as a referendum on the incumbent president, and with Mr. Biden’s approval hovering at 40%, Republicans have plenty to criticize as Americans worry about inflation, guns and immigration.
The former Republican president has also hinted at the possibility of running for re-election in 2024 – even as he has falsely claimed that the US electoral system is rigged. “The election was rigged and stolen – it’s a shame,” Mr Trump said.
One attendee told RSBN, a conservative network, that he was there to support Mr Trump because the former president had helped ensure people could “live without pressure and Tell them what we need to do.”
Fears of fraud and false claims have dogged the midterms, with many arguing that the Nov. 8 vote will be a test of the integrity of the electoral system.
Back in Philadelphia, taking the marquee speaking slot after Mr Biden, Mr Obama warned: “Truth and facts and logic and reason and basic decency are on the ballot. Democracy itself is on the ballot – the stakes are high.”
