US Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has challenged her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, to a debate, provoking him to say whatever he has to say in front of her.
Addressing an election rally in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday, Harris, 59, said the nature of the presidential election changed after she entered the fray.
He officially announced his candidacy on July 20 after outgoing President Joe Biden withdrew from the race for a second term.
“The momentum is shifting in this race. There are signs that Donald Trump is sensing it. You may have noticed. So last week, you may have noticed, he pulled out of the September debate that he had previously agreed to,” Harris said.
“Donald, I hope you’ll reconsider meeting me on the debate stage, because as the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face,” he told the cheering crowd.
“So, that’s the funny thing about this. That’s the funny thing about this. He’s not going to debate, but he and his fellow candidate have a lot to say about me,” he said.
About 10,000 people attended his rally in Atlanta, a key electoral battleground, according to the campaign.
He said, “The road to the White House goes right through this state and you all helped us win in 2020 and we’re going to do it again in 2024. Yes, we will.”
Emphasizing that the campaign is not just about her versus Trump, Harris said, “In fact, this campaign is about two very different visions for our country. One is focused on the future. The other is focused on the past.” “We’re not going back because our fight is for the future. It’s a fight for freedom,” she said.
“Across our country, we are witnessing a full-blown assault on hard-won freedoms and rights. The freedom to vote. The freedom to be safe from gun violence. The freedom to live without fear of bigotry and hate. The freedom to love who you love openly and with pride. The freedom to know and accept your true and full history. And a woman’s freedom to make decisions about her own body and not let her government tell her what to do,” he said.
“Our fight is for the future and for freedom. I don’t have to tell the people of Atlanta that generations before us led the fight for freedom. And now the baton is in our hands. In the hands of every single one of us,” Harris said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
