‘Predators, fraudsters… I know Trump’s type’: Kamala Harris slams rival as Democrats unite

WASHINGTON – US Vice-President Kamala Harris launched her presidential election campaign on July 22 with a blistering personal attack on Republican Donald Trump, and vowed to win in November despite the “roller coaster” of

US President Joe Biden’s shock exit

.

As she closed in on the Democratic Party’s nomination with

the support of a slew of heavyweights

and massive voter donations, Ms Harris slammed Trump in her first speech to campaign workers since Mr Biden’s announcement on July 21.

Mr Biden, 81, meanwhile made his first public remarks for nearly a week as

he recovers from a bout of Covid-19.

He called in to the campaign meeting to say that dropping out – after mounting party and voter concerns over his health and mental acuity – had been the “right thing to do” and he praised Ms Harris as “the best”.

“We are going to win in November,” a smiling Ms Harris told campaign workers in her fiery speech at campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.

She said she had gone to the Wilmington office to address them personally after the “roller coaster” of the last few days.

Turning her fire on Trump, Ms Harris referred to her past role as California’s chief prosecutor, saying she “took on perpetrators of all kinds”.

“Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type,” she said to applause.

Ms Harris also pledged to focus on the politically explosive issue of abortion, after Trump praised the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn the long-held federal right to the procedure.

Mr Biden dropped out on July 21 and endorsed Ms Harris after three weeks of intensifying pressure,

triggered by a disastrous debate performance against Trump

.

Aiming to become the first woman president in US history, the 59-year-old Ms Harris won the backing of a seemingly unassailable number of Democrats, most notably powerful former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Ms Pelosi’s was the biggest yet as the influential 84-year-old said she endorsed Ms Harris “with immense pride and limitless optimism”.

Donors have also rallied, pouring a record US$81 million (S$109 million) into Ms Harris’ campaign in the 24 hours since Mr Biden stood aside.

The campaign claimed that the amount collected since July 21 was the largest one-day haul in US presidential history – and that, among the 888,000 grassroots donors, some 60 per cent were making their first 2024 contribution.

In his comments, Mr Biden’s voice sounded husky as he explained his decision to step aside from the race and pledged that he would keep working on key topics, including ending the war in Gaza.

Addressing Ms Harris, he added: “I’m watching you, kid. I love you.”

An aide to Ms Harris later said she would meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week during his Washington visit – separate from Mr Biden’s own planned sit-down.

Ms Harris will not attend Mr Netanyahu’s address to Congress, the aide said, due to a previously scheduled event.

In a strikingly symbolic moment on the morning of July 22, Ms Harris hosted a ceremony for college athletes at the White House while Mr Biden remained stuck in isolation with Covid-19 at his Delaware beach house.

The US President will return to the White House on July 23, according to his official schedule, which was updated after his doctor reported that Mr Biden’s symptoms have almost resolved completely.

Mr Biden’s stunning withdrawal has completely upended the 2024 race, transforming a long slog between two unpopular elderly men into one of the most compelling in modern US history.

The move has jolted a demoralised party that Ms Harris could now unify, and could give America its first female president.

It has also hit Republicans hard, with former US president Trump, 78 – now the oldest presidential nominee in US history – having to completely retool a strategy that had been built around attacking Mr Biden over his age and physical frailty.

Ms Harris’ entry not only flips the age issue, but puts Trump – a convicted felon also found liable of sexual assault – up against a woman and former prosecutor.

And Trump has seemingly found it hard to move on from Mr Biden.

He launched a series of invective-filled social media posts after Mr Biden quit, mocking the US President’s age, and saying he and Ms Harris posed a “threat to democracy”.

Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance echoed that line of attack at a rally in Ohio on July 22, telling supporters that Ms Harris had the momentum because “elite Democrats got in a smoke-filled room and decided to throw Joe Biden overboard”.

“That is not how it works,” he said. “That is a threat to democracy.” AFP