Madison (United States) (AFP) - Kamala Harris clapped back Thursday at Donald Trump over what she called his “very offensive” remarks about women, returning reproductive rights to the fore as the rivals took their knife-edge White House race to western battleground states.

As each candidate seeks even the slightest of advantages, they have also homed in on immigration and are aiming to woo crucial Latino voters with just five days before the November 5 election.

Pop icon Jennifer Lopez will bring her star power to the stage for Harris in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the Democratic vice president and Republican former president chase one another through the seven swing states expected to decide the election winner.

Trump too holds a rally in Nevada on Thursday evening. Beforehand, the rivals separately visit neighboring Arizona, where Harris speaks in Phoenix, and Trump holds a scheduled interview with ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Harris began her day in Wisconsin, lashing out at Trump over his remarks the previous day when he raised eyebrows by telling a rally that “I want to protect the women of our country… whether the women like it or not.”

She branded the comments “offensive to everybody” and “very offensive to women in terms of not understanding their agency.”

Trump, she told reporters, “does not prioritize the freedom of women and the intelligence of women to make decisions about their own lives and bodies.”

Reproductive rights have served as a rallying cry for Democrats – and an Achilles heel of sorts for Trump – ever since the conservative-dominated US Supreme Court ended the federal right to abortion in 2022.

Polling for this year’s election shows a demonstrable gender gap, with women voters tilting toward Harris, and Trump earning support from most men, so abortion rights could play a determining role in the outcome.

- Garbagegate -

Both campaigns have been jolted in recent days after controversies stemming from a remark by a warm-up speaker at a Trump rally, which initially blew back against Republicans before a damaging gaffe from President Joe Biden.

Harris made political hay from the comedian calling the US territory of Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.”

Her campaign won the backing of Puerto Rican celebrities Lopez, rapper Bad Bunny and singer Ricky Martin, and released a Spanish-language ad with the voice-over concluding: “On November 5, Trump will find out that one person’s trash is another’s treasure.”

But Harris found herself on the defensive after Biden appeared to call Trump supporters “garbage” – prompting the Democratic candidate to state she disagreed with criticism of people based on who they vote for.

Trump, who himself has branded Harris’s allies “garbage” and “scum,” pounced on the misstep with a publicity stunt by climbing into a Trump-branded garbage truck.

The 78-year-old will also visit New Mexico on Thursday, and Virginia on Saturday – surprising calls given that polls suggest the two states will go to Harris.

More than 60 million Americans have cast their ballots via early or mail-in voting so far, almost 40 percent of the 2020 total.

- ‘Folks are exhausted’ -

Campaigning out west, Trump is betting frustrations over the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration policy will swing border state Arizona back in his favor after Biden beat Trump there in 2020.

Latino voters traditionally have aligned more with Democrats, but recent polling shows a noticeable trend toward Republicans.

The latest New York Times/Siena poll showed Harris with 52 percent of support among Hispanic voters to Trump’s 42 percent.

Both candidates will be in North Carolina on the weekend as part of a blitz of battleground states, with Harris also visiting Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania before Election Day.

Trump – who has 34 felony convictions for crimes connected to the 2016 election – is expected to reject Tuesday’s election result if he loses.

In Georgia, where Trump faces charges he interfered in the 2020 election, early voting is shattering records, said Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, as he pledged a secure statewide election.