Kamala Harris repeatedly attacked Donald Trump at her biggest campaign rally yet, accusing him of failing to secure the border and challenging him to debate her in September.
Trump and Republicans have repeatedly attacked Harris over Biden’s border policy, calling her the administration’s “border czar.”
But she struck back on Tuesday night.
“I was the attorney general of a border state. In that position I walked through underground tunnels on that border,” he said. “I went after the drug cartels, the human traffickers… I prosecuted them case after case and won. Donald Trump, on the other hand, talked a lot about securing our border, but he’s not walking the talk. Or as my friend Quavo would say, he’s not walking the talk.”
He said Trump “threw away” the bipartisan agreement on border funding “because he thought it would help him win the election. Which shows that Donald Trump doesn’t care about the safety of citizens, he only cares about himself.”
She pledged to pass the legislation as president.
The border is one of the vice president’s biggest vulnerabilities. Her team has argued that she was not in charge of border security, but rather of addressing the root causes of migration.
Vice President Kamala Harris repeatedly attacked Donald Trump at her rally
Harris was in Georgia to try to sway the swing state to her side.
“I have it very clear. The path to the White House goes through this state. We did it in 2020 and we are going to do it again in 2024,” he said.
She recited her resume as a prosecutor, district attorney and California attorney general.
“In those roles I faced off against perpetrators of all kinds, predators who abused women, scammers who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain, so hear me when I tell you I know the Donald Trump guy,” she said.
“And I’ve dealt with people like him throughout my career,” he added.
“Lock him up, lock him up!” the crowd demanded, as their feet pounded the bleachers.
Kamala Harris speaks with journalists
And when Harris noted that Trump had withdrawn from the September debate, the crowd booed.
“He won’t be participating in any debates, but he and his running mate have a lot to say about me,” he said. “And by the way, don’t you find some of his stuff just plain weird?”
“Well, Donald, I hope you’ll reconsider meeting me on the debate stage because, as the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say,” the cheers of the crowd drowned her out.
“Lock him up!” the crowd shouted again.
There were 10,000 people cheering the vice president at the Georgia State Convocation Center, according to the campaign.
The rally was Harris’s largest campaign event to date. It is her first appearance in Georgia since securing the Democratic presidential nomination.
Trump and Vance will hold a joint campaign rally in Atlanta on Saturday, August 3, the Trump campaign announced Tuesday.
It will be held at the same location as Harris’s rally.
Before Harris’ remarks, a group of top Democrats from the state pumped up the crowd, repeatedly reminding attendees of Trump’s attempts to overturn Georgia’s election results in the 2020 election.
Megan Thee Stallion got the crowd excited before Harris’ comments.
“We’re about to make history with the first female president. The first black female president. Let’s do it, baby,” she told the cheering crowd.
She sang ‘Girls in the Hood,’ ‘Mamushi,’ ‘Body’ and ‘Savage’ (many thanks to CNN’s DJ Judd for helping her pooler with the song IDs).
While singing her song ‘Body,’ she told the crowd, ‘Now I know my ladies in the crowd love their bodies, and if you want to keep loving your bodies, you know who to vote for.’
Stacey Abrams, one of Harris’ most ardent defenders, received a standing ovation and chants of “Stacey” as she exited. Abrams, in turn, had the crowd chanting “Kamala, Kamala.”
She described Harris as someone who “breaks barriers” in the White House.
He noted that in Georgia, “we are doing the work of changing America and we are going to do it again.”
But it was Georgia’s two Democratic senators – who handed the party control of the Senate – who reminded the crowd of Trump’s actions in the last presidential race.
Senator Jon Ossoff told the crowd: “Apparently Donald Trump is too scared to debate Vice President Karris.”
He added that the candidate who is too scared is the “candidate who is losing.”
“I’m so scared!” the crowd shouted. “I’m so scared!”
Ossoff also addressed Trump’s attempts to overturn the election results in Georgia.
“Lock him up, lock him up!” the crowd shouted.
And Sen. Raphael Warnock stressed the state’s importance in the race for the White House.
“Everyone knows the road to the White House goes through Georgia,” he said.
He noted that others know. “I actually overheard a phone call. A guy from Florida called Georgia and said he needed 11,000 votes,” he said, referring to Trump’s phone call to the state’s secretary of state in 2020.
The crowd erupted in laughter and applause.
“Georgia: Donald Trump tried to steal your vote. Kamala Harris is trying to earn your vote,” Warnock said.
Failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (left) and Sen. Jon Ossoff (right) energized the crowd for Harris
Vice President Kamala Harris stops by Paschal’s restaurant before her rally
Georgia played a crucial role in the last presidential election and is expected to be just as important in November. According to several polls published last week, Harris and Trump are practically in the same camp.
Polls showed Joe Biden significantly behind Trump in the state, but Harris is doing much better against the former president.
She leads Biden among young people, black voters and Hispanic voters, key demographics that could decide key states like Georgia and Arizona.
Biden only won the state by about 12,000 votes in 2020, a victory hotly contested by Trump, who is currently in the midst of an election interference case in the state.
Georgia is the main focus of attention less than 100 days before the elections.
Harris’ campaign said it has 24 offices open in the state and 170 staff there.
“In Georgia, we are running the largest statewide operation of any Democratic presidential campaign cycle ever conducted,” said campaign communications director Michael Tyler.
While in the state, Harris plans to attack Trump for his ties to Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation initiative that promotes conservative policies, and his position on abortion rights.
And while Harris focuses on Georgia, Trump will focus on breaking through the Democrats’ blue wall.
He will hold a rally in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, his first visit to the state since the assassination attempt on him in late June.
On Monday, Harris had representatives in Pennsylvania to counter Trump: the state’s governor, Josh Shapiro, and Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmore. Both Democrats have been named as potential running mates for Harris.
Harris’ campaign has also been drawing close ties to Georgia as she weighs who to pick as her No. 2.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who is reported to be a potential running mate, was in the state on Sunday.
Harris’ campaign is considering him along with several other candidates, including Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Govs. Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Tim Walz of Minnesota.
He is expected to choose his vice presidential candidate on August 7.
“Not yet,” Harris told reporters Tuesday when asked if she had chosen her running mate.
Harris’ campaign said it held about 2,300 organizing events in battleground states this weekend, as several high-profile Democrats on her potential vice presidential ticket campaigned for her.
With less than 100 days until Election Day, Harris’ campaign is touting her fundraising and infrastructure efforts, arguing she is well positioned to beat Trump in November.
The campaign has raised $200 million since Harris emerged as the likely Democratic presidential nominee last week.
More than 170,000 volunteers have also signed up to help Harris’ campaign with phone calls, canvassing and other get-out-the-vote efforts.
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