*

Harris and Trump ramp up outreach in battleground states

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Biden and Harris to meet with US hostage deal negotiating

team

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Biden administration faces criticism over ceasefire

strategy

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Harris campaign outraises Trump, focuses on positive

message

(Changes dateline, adds Harris aide on U.S. Steel and Biden

comments on Netanyahu)

By Jeff Mason and Stephanie Kelly

WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Vice President Kamala

Harris will say U.S. Steel should remain in domestic hands

during a campaign rally she plans to hold with U.S. President

Joe Biden on Monday after they first meet at the White House to

discuss a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza.

This week marks the start of the vital post-Labor Day

sprint to the Nov. 5 election, and both Harris and her

Republican challenger former President Donald Trump are expected

to ramp up outreach to voters, especially in battleground states

such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Nevada.

Harris, who replaced Biden at the top of the Democratic

ticket after he withdrew after a poor June debate performance

against Trump, will use her Labor Day remarks in Pittsburgh to

underscore support for steel workers, a campaign aide said.

"The vice president is expected to say that U.S. Steel

should remain domestically owned and operated and stress her

commitment to always have the backs of American steel workers,"

the aide said.

Harris' position mirrors that of Biden, who said in

March that U.S. Steel Corp, which has agreed to be bought

by Japan's Nippon Steel ( NISTF ) for $14.9 billion, must

remain a domestically-owned American firm

.

Harris and Biden appeared together at the Democratic

National Convention and at a White House-planned event on

Medicare drug price cuts

last month, but this will be their first joint appearance

at a campaign rally since she became the party's nominee.

The event could be overshadowed by developments in the

Middle East.

Over the weekend, Israel recovered the bodies of six

hostages from a tunnel in Gaza where it said they were recently

killed by Hamas, sparking sharp criticism of the Biden

administration's ceasefire strategy and new pressure on Israeli

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bring the remaining

hostages home.

Biden told reporters on Monday he did not think

Netanyahu was doing enough to secure a hostage deal.

The U.S. government, including Biden himself, has been

trying to

broker a ceasefire

between Hamas and Israel. Some 1,200 Israelis were killed

in Hamas' surprise attack on Oct. 7 according to Israeli

tallies, while health authorities in Gaza say more than 40,000

Palestinians have died in the Israeli assault on the enclave.

The issue is weighing on the U.S. election, with

pro-Palestinian activists

threatening to ramp up protests

against Harris on the campaign trail. Republicans meanwhile

blame Biden and Harris for the hostage deaths.

The president and vice president were due to hold a

meeting in the White House Situation Room on Monday with the

U.S. hostage deal negotiating team to discuss efforts toward a

deal.

Afterwards Harris will hold a rally in Detroit,

Michigan, before joining Biden in Pennsylvania, one of the most

important battleground states in this election cycle.

Trump will participate in a FOX town hall on Wednesday

hosted by Sean Hannity, and later this week will address the

Fraternal Order of Police at their fall meeting in Charlotte,

North Carolina, and hold a rally in Wisconsin.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Harris was leading in

the race against Trump 45% to 41%.

Harris and Walz are hoping to keep up the enthusiasm her

entry into the race has sparked among Democrats, who are

donating record amounts of money to the campaign and

volunteering by the tens of thousands.

The Harris campaign has focused on an upbeat, positive

message about America's future, cost-cutting plans aimed at the

middle class and attracting Republicans turned off by Trump.

Trump has sought to blame Harris for continued high food

prices and illegal immigration, but his policy criticism has

often been overshadowed by his demeaning comments about her

intelligence and heritage and his amplifying of crude internet

memes.

Harris' campaign appears to be outraising Trump's. Last

week, the Harris campaign told the Federal Election Commission

that it raised $204 million in July, compared with $48 million

reported to the body by Trump's main fundraising group.