Harris bashes Trump over ‘fear and hate’, promises compassion in debut rally

MILWAUKEE - US Vice-President Kamala Harris assailed Donald Trump on July 23 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, she aggressively went after Trump’s vulnerabilities, comparing her background as a former prosecutor to his record as a convicted felon.

Ms 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 Mr Biden held, underscoring Democrats’ hope that Ms Harris, 59, can revive what had been a flagging campaign under Mr Biden, 81.

The audience danced and waved Ms Harris signs, while chants of “Ka-ma-la!” broke out when she took the stage.

She emphasised her commitment to reproductive rights, an issue that has plagued Republicans since the US Supreme Court – powered by three Trump-appointed justices – eliminated a nationwide right to abortion in 2022.

Ms Harris led Trump 44 per cent to 42 per cent

among registered voters in the national Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted on July 22 and 23 after Mr Biden

dropped out of the contest

on July 21 and endorsed Ms Harris as his successor.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week showed Mr Biden, before he ended his campaign, trailing Trump by a marginal 2 percentage points.

Both were within the poll’s three-point margin of error, but the results could signal limited movement in the Democrats’ direction – and may suggest that Ms 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 Ms Harris to some of Mr 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 Ms Harris, noting that her previous presidential run in 2020 did not even survive until the first statewide nominating contest.

He offered to debate Ms Harris multiple times. He and Mr Biden had one more debate scheduled on Sept 10 after their encounter on June 27. Mr Biden’s poor performance that night led to Democratic calls for him to step aside.

“I want to debate her, and she’ll be no different because they have the same policies,” Trump said.

A swift rise

Ms Harris swiftly consolidated her party’s support after Mr Biden abandoned his re-election campaign under pressure from members of his party who were worried about his ability to beat Trump, 78, or to serve for another four-year term.

She wrapped up the nomination on the night of July 22 by

winning pledges from a majority of the delegates

who at the party convention in August will determine the nominee, the campaign said.

Her campaign said it had raised US$100 million (S$135 million) since July 21.

Most Democratic lawmakers have lined up behind her candidacy, including the party’s leaders in the Senate and House, Mr Chuck Schumer and Mr Hakeem Jeffries, who endorsed Ms Harris on July 23 at a joint press conference.

Ms Harris’ rise dramatically reshapes an election in which many voters were unhappy with their options. As the first black woman and Asian American to serve as vice-president, she would make further history as the first woman elected US president.

Wisconsin is among a trio of Rust Belt states, along with Michigan and Pennsylvania, that are critical for Democrats’ chances of defeating Trump.

Ms Alyssa Wahlborg, 19, chair of the Whitewater College Democrats, said Ms Harris had re-energised young voters, particularly women who want her to break the ultimate US glass ceiling.

“I talked to my grandmum – we are both excited that she may live to see the first woman president,” said Ms Wahlborg, who was at the July 23 rally. “It’s taken too long.”

Saddled with concerns that included his health and persistent high prices crimping Americans’ household finances, Mr Biden had been losing ground against Trump in opinion polls, particularly in the competitive states that are likely to decide the election, including the Sun Belt states of Arizona and Nevada.

Biden to address nation

Mr Biden said on social media platform X that he would deliver an Oval Office speech on the night of July 24 explaining his decision to end his campaign. He returned to Washington on July 23 after

spending several days isolating at home with Covid-19.

The President has tested negative for the virus and no longer has symptoms, the White House doctor said in a letter on July 23.

Mr Biden’s dramatic exit followed Trump’s narrow escape in a July 13 assassination attempt that raised questions about security failures in the US Secret Service. The agency’s director,

Ms Kimberly Cheatle, resigned

on July 23.

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. The Post cited unnamed people familiar with the matter. The Secret Service and the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison, in an interview on NBC’s Today programme, said the party had to move quickly to get the ticket on ballots in all 50 states, and that Ms Harris’ vice-presidential pick needed to be made by Aug 7.

Potential running mates include Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. REUTERS