Vice President Kamala Harris could barely contain herself as she criticized former President Donald Trump for his response on health care at the presidential debate and called for another showdown with her Republican rival at her first campaign rally since their clash.
Harris traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday as she looks to build on momentum from her showdown with Trump in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
The Democratic presidential nominee touted her debate performance even as Trump announced there would be no third debate and declared victory.
“Two nights ago, Donald Trump and I had our first debate,” Harris said as the crowd cheered. “And I think we owe it to the voters to have another debate.”
“On Tuesday night, I spoke about issues that I know matter to families across America,” the vice president said.
Kamala Harris took the stage to thunderous applause in Charlotte, North Carolina, for her first campaign rally after Tuesday’s debate. During the event, she called for another debate, saying “we owe it to the voters.”
Harris listed “lowering the cost of living, investing in American small businesses, protecting the workforce, protecting reproductive freedom, and keeping our nation safe and secure.” She argued that the former president followed “the same playbook.”
The vice president also criticized the former president for his response in the debate over replacing Obamacare after spending his first term in office trying to get the legislation repealed.
“Donald Trump intends to end the Affordable Care Act,” Harris warned. “You heard what he said in the debate: he has no plans to replace it.”
“He said ‘concepts of a plan,'” Harris said with a laugh.
People in the audience could be heard shouting “concepts,” which was what Trump said during the debate when the moderator asked him to clarify whether he had a plan.
“Oh, you all watched the debate!” Harris replied, barely able to control his laughter. “Concepts, concepts. No concrete plan. Concepts.”
Kamala Harris was greeted with thunderous applause when she entered. When she criticized Trump for only having “concepts” of a health care replacement plan, the crowd laughed. She also received massive cheers when she mentioned protecting reproductive freedoms.
Trump also received boos from the crowd again when the vice president noted that he refused to answer a question in the debate about whether he would sign a national abortion ban.
The vice president’s comments on protecting abortion access received some of the loudest applause at Thursday’s rally.
Harris wasn’t the only one praising her performance at Thursday’s debate in North Carolina.
“How was the debate on Tuesday night?” Governor Roy Cooper said to the cheering crowd. He praised her debate performance, calling it “presidential.”
Harris has been campaigning heavily in North Carolina, as Democrats view it as a state they have a chance to win in November.
While Trump won the state in 2016 and 2020, it also has a Democratic governor. The former president won it against President Joe Biden by less than 1.5 points, or fewer than 75,000 votes.
The Real Clear Politics polling average shows the race statistically tied in the state, with several recent polls even giving the vice president a slight edge. The last Democrat to win the state in a presidential election was Barack Obama in 2008.
Harris has made a series of recent visits to the state, including her first economic policy speech in Raleigh last month.
Biden trailed in the state, but after Harris took over the lead in July, Democrats across the state saw a surge in enthusiasm and volunteers lined up to help elect the vice president.
Harris-Walz supporters in Charlotte began lining up before 9:30 a.m. Thursday outside Bojangles Coliseum in hopes of seeing the Democratic nominee speak.
They are confident their state can turn blue by 2024, but there is still work to be done.
Attendees wait outside Bojangles Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, for Kamala Harris’ rally on September 12. Supporters near the front of the line told DailyMail.com they arrived around 9:30 a.m. to get in.
Volunteers receive instructions before Kamala Harris’ rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. Many of the attendees wore stickers that read “we’re not going back.” It’s a popular phrase from Harris’ campaign speech, in “brat” green.
“There are Republicans in North Carolina who are not going to vote for Trump, and that gives me hope,” Carol Injaychock said as she waited in line for Harris’ rally.
“My God, we love her. We have to fight for our democracy,” said Donna Forrester. “It’s been a long 10 years.”
The first ballots in North Carolina were due to go out on Sept. 6 but were delayed by a state Supreme Court ruling that requires election officials to remove Robert Kennedy Jr.’s name from ballots and reprint them.
“North Carolina will be the state that seals the deal for Kamala Harris,” Congressman Jeff Jackson said before her remarks.
From Charlotte, Harris is also headed to Greensboro for another campaign rally. On Friday, she has campaign stops in central Pennsylvania.
Harris’ visit to the battleground states marks the start of a new “aggressive” phase of the campaign just over fifty days before the election.
The team includes the vice president, his running mate Tim Walz and other campaign representatives who will fan out across key states. The campaign also plans to cut ads using debate footage to target key groups of voters and members of the Democratic coalition. The first of these launched Wednesday.
Harris will also increase her media appearances in the final stretch, amid criticism over her lack of solo interviews or news conferences as a Democratic candidate.
The vice president is expected to focus especially on reaching out to voters in battleground states and key members of the Democratic coalition with interviews with local state media in the coming days.
Next week, he is also expected to participate in a conversation with journalists from the National Association of Black Journalists.