As Polls Put Her In Lead, Kamala Bashes Trump In Debut Rally
Photo: REUTERS/Vincent Alban
MILWAUKEE, WI(REUTERS) – Vice President Kamala Harris assailed Donald Trump on Tuesday at her first campaign rally since replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate, while a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll showed her taking a marginal lead over her Republican rival.
In a 17-minute speech, Harris aggressively went after Trump’s vulnerabilities, comparing her background as a former prosecutor to his record as a convicted felon.
Harris ticked through a list of liberal priorities, saying that if elected she would act to expand abortion access, make it easier for workers to join unions and address gun violence, drawing a sharp contrast with Trump, the Republican nominee for president in the Nov. 5 election.
“Donald Trump wants to take our country backward,” she told a cheering crowd of several thousand at West Allis Central High School in a Milwaukee suburb in Wisconsin, a battleground state with a pivotal role in deciding the election outcome.
“Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?”
The raucous rally was a notable contrast to the smaller, more subdued events Biden held, underscoring Democrats’ hope that Harris, 59, can revive what had been a flagging campaign under Biden, 81. The audience danced and waved Harris signs, while chants of “Ka-ma-la!” broke out when she took the stage.
She emphasized her commitment to reproductive rights, an issue that has plagued Republicans since the U.S. Supreme Court – powered by three Trump-appointed justices – eliminated a nationwide right to abortion in 2022.
Harris led Trump 44% to 42% among registered voters in the national Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted on July 22 and 23 after Biden dropped out of the contest on July 21 and endorsed Harris as his successor.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week showed Biden, before he ended his campaign, trailing Trump by two percentage points.
Both were within the poll’s three-point margin of error. But the results could signal limited movement in Democrats’ direction – and may suggest that Harris’ elevation to the top of the ticket blunted whatever momentum Trump hoped to gain from last week’s Republican National Convention, also in Milwaukee.
Trump and his allies have tried to tether Harris to some of Biden’s more unpopular policies, including his administration’s handling of the surge of migrants at the southern border with Mexico.
In a conference call with reporters on July 23, Trump expressed confidence in his ability to defeat Harris, noting that her previous presidential run in 2020 did not even survive until the first statewide nominating contest.
Trump offered to debate Harris multiple times. “I want to debate her, and she’ll be no different because they have the same policies,” Trump said.
Wisconsin is among a trio of Rust Belt states, along with Michigan and Pennsylvania, that are critical to Democrats’ chances of defeating Trump.
Biden’s dramatic exit followed Trump’s narrow survival of a July 13 assassination attempt. The Washington Post reported that Secret Service officials have encouraged the Trump campaign to stop holding outdoor rallies like the one in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was wounded in the right ear.
Sunjay
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Republicans win on solving real problems not pandering to…
July 24, 2024Rao Palanki
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Where is your fact check on Kamala’s lie? Shame on your for your dishonesty journalists and following crazy CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS fake journalists.
July 24, 2024Y ARROROA
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Do you the present good record of Trump, Mr Rao ?
July 24, 2024What are you mad about seems like you like to have a President with felony past
Girish Modi
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Vice President Kamala Harris’ first campaign rally in Wisconsin just two days after she effectively replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket sets the tone of upcoming presidential race. She is the first presidential candidate who raised more than $100 million in just 48 hours after securing nomination.
The decision to make Wisconsin the first stop of Harris’ presidential campaign only doubled down on the importance of the battleground state — and particularly the area around Milwaukee, the state’s largest and most diverse city — in the 2024 election.
Biden won Wisconsin in 2020 by about 20,000 votes, similar to the margin Trump won the state in 2016 when he defeated Hillary Clinton.
The events of the last 48 hours, however, have upended much of the last two years of campaigning on both sides of the aisle. And Republicans are now forced to wrestle with the idea they will not face Biden on the ballot this November.
Harris put it bluntly in direct attack on Trump’s campaign speeches. “What kind of country do we want to live in? Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?”
Harris in her remarks sought to contrast herself with Trump, the first former president to be convicted on felony charges. She pointed to her background as California’s attorney general and as district attorney in San Francisco. Harris said to loud chants of “Lock him up” from the crowd. “So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type.” She listed abortion rights, affordable health care and workers’ freedom to organize as key issues of her campaign.
I predict that Harris (who is black but looks Caucasian) is most likely to win the election for two main reasons –there are more women voters and more black voters than rest of the voters. The placard sign “YES WE KAM!” tells it all. Get ready for first female president of the United States!
July 25, 2024