Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to make an appearance in the Detroit suburbs on Friday when her boss, President Joe Biden, appeared to steal the show by making a surprise appearance at the White House press conference moments before she took the stage. stage for commenting.
It was the first time that the president appeared in the meeting room. CNN noted the dueling appearances as they happened.
“We were actually about to go live with Vice President Kamala Harris, who is speaking right now in Detroit, Michigan,” host Boris Sanchez said on air.
“And apparently she’s talking about ending this dock strike, she’s trying to appeal to union workers, and yet the President of the United States comes forward, clearly overshadowing her, answering important questions,” he continued.
Sánchez questioned whether it was a ‘communication error’. Is the left hand not talking to the right in this situation?
President Biden and Vice President Harris had dueling events on Friday that led a CNN anchor to claim the president was “overshadowing” the Democratic presidential candidate with his appearance.
Political strategist Frank Luntz, who was a guest on CNN, responded that if the two sides had coordinated “this would not have happened.”
Harris was in Redford Township, Michigan, on Friday afternoon, where he spoke about the importance of organized labor and praised first responders while speaking to a hall of firefighters and union members.
His appearance next to a fire truck at the Redford Township Fire Department’s North Station comes as the firefighters union refused to endorse Harris or Trump in 2024.
The lack of endorsement is seen as a blow to the vice president after the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), which represents more than 350,000 firefighters, first responders and other medical workers, was the first union to endorse President Biden in 2020.
“Yours is a profession that is more than a profession; it truly is a calling,” Harris told the crowd after receiving a warm welcome. He noted that his brother-in-law is a retired firefighter in California.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event at the Redford Township Fire Department North Station on Friday.
The Democratic presidential candidates’ appearance in Michigan with firefighters comes after the firefighters union refused to endorse them in the presidential race in an apparent snub.
“I know what you guys do and I know your character,” Harris said. ‘I know their families. I know what it means to the entire community to have you all take on the lives you have chosen to live, and I am very grateful.’
He praised them for working “long shifts with unpredictable hours” in “some of the most dangerous conditions.”
Harris said she is grateful for the union that supports them and their rights to “everything they deserve in terms of wages and benefits.”
It was presented by the president of the Michigan Professional Firefighters Union.
The IAFF is the latest major union to retain its endorsement in the 2024 presidential race. Last month, the Teamsters union declined to endorse a presidential candidate, although several local chapters supported the Democratic candidate.
Harris praised firefighters Friday for the work they do. He also celebrated during his speech that the port union had reached an agreement to end its strike.
President Biden’s surprise appearance in the White House briefing room came just as Harris was supposed to speak. It was the first time he had appeared there as president for a briefing.
During her appearance, Harris also addressed the International Longshoremen’s Association and agreed to call off a strike that shut down major ports just weeks before the election.
Harris this week expressed support for unionized workers after the strike began Tuesday. On Friday, the vice president praised the deal, saying they “did it right.”
“I say wherever you go, collective bargaining benefits everyone,” Harris said.
Later in her speech, Harris criticized Donald Trump as an “unserious human,” pausing before saying the word human as if she wished she had said something more while attacking him over health care and the treatment of workers. Americans.
