A roaring crowd of battleground state voters on Tuesday greeted US Vice President Kamala Harris as she opened her public case against former US president Donald Trump by declaring that November’s election would be “a choice between freedom and chaos.”
“In this campaign, I promise you, I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week,” Harris said. “We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead.”
“Donald Trump wants to take our country backward,” Harris told the crowd in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?”
Photo: Reuters
Harris arrived at the rally having locked up nomination support from Democratic delegates after US President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid on Sunday. It was her first campaign rally since she jumped into the race with Biden’s endorsement.
The event reflected a vibrancy that had been lacking among Democrats in the past few weeks, and Harris was intent on projecting a sense of steady confidence about the November election.
She had pulled in US$100 million in donations since Sunday afternoon and on Tuesday picked up the backing of more Democratic officials and political groups, including US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and US House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
By stopping in Wisconsin, Harris was putting down a marker in one of the “blue wall” states along with Michigan and Pennsylvania that Democrats see as essential for securing a presidential victory.
The visit came a week after the Republican National Convention wrapped up in the city after nominating Trump as the party’s presidential candidate.
Harris’ trip to the state was a sharp contrast to Biden’s July 6 visit, when he was trying to reassure Democrats who were wary after his troubling performance in the June 27 debate against Trump.
Harris strode onto the stage to the anthem Freedom from Beyonce’s Lemonade album.
Where Biden used to target Trump as a broad threat to democracy, Harris took a more personal, targeted approach, echoing comments she made to campaign workers on Monday by pointing to her record as a California prosecutor who had dealt with what she said were “predators” and “fraudsters,” such Trump, who is the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes.
“I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week,” she said.
Harris also cast her campaign as a “people first” endeavor, again aiming to draw a contrast with Trump, who she said represented special interests and corporations.
Additional reporting by AFP
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