US Vice President Kamala Harris launched her re-election campaign on Monday with a scathing personal attack on Donald Trump and vowed to win in November despite the “rollercoaster” of President Joe Biden’s shock resignation.
As she inched closer to the Democratic Party’s nomination with the backing of many veterans and massive voter donations, Harris attacked Trump in her first speech to campaign workers since Biden’s announcement on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Biden, 81, made his first public remarks in nearly a week after recovering from Covid.
He phoned into a campaign meeting to say that withdrawing from the election was the “right move” after growing concerns from the party and voters about his health and mental acuity, and praised Harris as “the best.”
“We will win in November,” a smiling Harris told campaign workers during a fiery speech at campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.
She said she went to the Wilmington office to speak to him in person after the turmoil of the last few days.
Taking aim at Trump, Harris referred to her previous role as California’s chief prosecutor, saying she “faced all types of criminals.”
“They are predators who abused women. Fraudsters who defrauded consumers. Scammers who bent the rules for their own gain. So listen to me when I say I know the type of Donald Trump I am,” she said to thunderous applause.
Harris also pledged to focus on the politically explosive issue of abortion after Trump praised the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn a longstanding federal right to abortion.
– ‘Boundless optimism’ –
After three weeks of mounting pressure following a poor performance in debates against Trump, Biden on Sunday withdrew from the election and endorsed Harris.
Harris, 59, who is aiming to become the first female president in US history, has secured the backing of a large number of Democrats, most prominently the powerful former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
This is Pelosi’s biggest statement yet, as the influential 84-year-old said she supports Harris “with great pride and boundless optimism.”
Donors have also rallied, giving Harris’s campaign a record $81 million within 24 hours of Biden’s withdrawal.
The campaign claimed the $81 million raised since Sunday is the largest single-day amount in presidential history — and that nearly 60 percent of the 888,000 grassroots donors are making their first contributions for 2024.
Biden sounded heavy in his remarks as he explained his decision to step away from the race and pledged he would continue working on key issues, including ending the war in Gaza.
“I see you baby girl. I love you,” he said, addressing Harris.
In a stunning symbolic moment on Monday morning, Harris hosted a ceremony for college athletes at the White House on Monday while Biden remained in isolation with Covid at his Delaware beach house.
“Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishments over the last three years is unmatched in modern history,” Harris said in her brief speech on the White House’s South Lawn amid light rain.
Biden’s doctor said Monday that his symptoms have “almost completely resolved,” though the White House has not yet announced his schedule this week.
– ‘Threat to democracy’ –
Biden’s surprise withdrawal has upended the 2024 race, turning the long-running tussle between two unpopular older men into one of the most intriguing races in modern American history.
The move has come as a shock to the demoralized party, as Harris can now unite and give America its first woman president.
It has also hit Republicans hard, as 78-year-old former President Trump — now the oldest presidential candidate in US history — has had to completely alter his strategy, which was built around attacking Biden over his age and physical frailty.
Harris’s entry not only turns the age issue on its head, but also pits Trump — a convicted felon who has been convicted of sexual assault — against a woman and former accuser.
And it’s becoming harder for Trump to get ahead of Biden.
He posted a series of expletive-laden social media posts after Biden left office, mocking the president’s age and saying he and Harris were a “threat to democracy.”
Trump’s fellow candidate J.D. Vance repeated a similar attack at a rally in Ohio on Monday, telling supporters that Harris gained momentum because “elite Democrats gathered in a smoke-filled room and decided to sideline Joe Biden.”
“This is not the way to work. This is a threat to democracy,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
