Vice President Kamala Harris fawned over Joe Biden during her first campaign event as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in the battleground state of Wisconsin and went after Donald Trump before an energized crowd.
It’s been a whirlwind 48 hours since President Biden stepped aside in the presidential race, throwing his support behind Harris.
Harris’ Milwaukee stop occurred less than 12 hours after it was confirmed she had locked in enough Democratic delegates to secure the party’s presidential nomination.
‘We have earned the support of enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination,’ Harris declared. ‘It is a great honor to have Joe Biden ‘s endorsement in the presidential race.’
The vice president started off strong by making the the case against Trump who she calls a ‘cheater.’
She discussed her role as a prosecutor taking on ‘perpetrators of all kinds’ including ‘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,’ Harris said. The crowd roared as some attendees chanted ‘lock him up.’
‘I promise you, I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week,’ Harris said.
The vice president went on to contrast her background as California Attorney General taking on for-profit schools while Trump ran a for-profit school that was shut down. She touted putting away predators and slammed Trump for being found liable for sexual abuse.
The vice president also noted the ex-president was found guilty on 34 criminal counts earlier this year by a New York jury.
Biden dropped out of the presidential race on Sunday sending a jolt through the presidential race. Harris announced soon after that she would seek the nomination and vowed to earn every vote.
Harris praised Biden toward the beginning of her remarks calling it ‘one of the greatest honors of my life to serve as vice president to our President Joe Biden.’
She said Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over his entire and the past three and a half years ‘is unmatched in modern history’ and claimed that in one term he has surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms.
‘We are all deeply, deeply grateful for his continuing service to our nation,’ she said.
Harris spent most of Sunday with her team shoring up support among Democratic leaders and lawmakers.
Within 24 hours, her campaign raised $81 million, the most of any presidential candidate in a 24-hour period ever. Soon after, the campaign said the figure had surpassed $100 million.
Other Democratic groups and state parties have also said they’ve seen an increase in donations as the shake-up at the top of the ticket has reenergized contributors.
While Harris went after Trump and accused Republicans of focusing on the past saying ‘we are not going back,’ she also started to lay out her vision for the future. She vowed a ‘defining goal’ of her presidency would be ‘building up the middle class.’
‘Ours is a fight for the future, and it is a fight for freedom,’ Harris said. She spoke of voting rights, passing an assault weapons ban and protecting reproductive freedoms.
Harris visit to Milwaukee came just days after the city hosted the Republican National Convention where Trump last Thursday accepted the Republican presidential nomination.
Wisconsin is part of Democrats’ blue wall as they look to win in November. Trump won the state in 2016 but it flipped back to blue for Biden and Harris in 2020.
‘The path to the White House goes through Wisconsin. And to win in Wisconsin, we are counting on you right here in Milwaukee,’ she said. ‘You all helped us win in 2020. In 2024 we will win again.’
As Democrats waited for Harris to take the stage, they chanted ‘Ka-ma-la” and waved signs with her first name ‘KAMALA’ in the air.
It was a diverse crowd including people of all ages and ethnicities. Some people brought young children while others came with friends. Several people were spotted in union shirts.
Harris’ first campaign speech as the presumptive Democratic nominee occurred an hour after two more Democratic holdouts endorsed her.
Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and House Leader Hakeem Jeffries finally made their endorsement for the presidential race in the wake of Biden’s bowing out on Sunday.
Jeffries said in the long-awaited announcement: ‘Joe Biden will go down in American history as one of the most consequential presidents of all time. President Joe Biden has made the selfless decision to pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, who is ready, willing and able to lead us into the future.’
Jeffries signaled that he and Schumer had held off with the endorsement to allow Harris to earn support from the bottom up.
‘Vice President Harris has earned the nomination from the grassroots up and not the top down,’ he said.
Their endorsement followed support that poured in from rank-and-file Democrats. No other notable Democrat has stepped up to challenge Harris and she has now collected support from enough delegates to win the nomination.
Notably, former President Barack Obama still has yet to throw his support for Kamala, saying vaguely that he would support the Democrats’ next ‘outstanding nominee.’