Democrat Harris rebukes Trump in historic campaign-trail debut with
Biden
Send a link to a friend
[August 13, 2020]
By Trevor Hunnicutt
WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) - Kamala Harris
made her campaign-trail debut as Joe Biden's Democratic running mate on
Wednesday, delivering a strong rebuke of President Donald Trump's
leadership and highlighting the historic significance of her new role.
Harris said Biden, the former vice president under President Barack
Obama, had recognized the critical moment being faced by the country by
picking her to be the first Black woman and Asian American on a
major-party U.S. presidential ticket.
"Today, he takes his place in the ongoing story of America's march
toward equality and justice as the only person who served alongside the
first Black president, and has chosen the first Black woman as his
running mate, said Harris, a U.S. senator from California.
Nearly nine out of 10 Democrats approved of Harris as Biden's pick,
according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday.
Forced by the coronavirus pandemic to stage a more subdued launch than
would be expected from a typical presidential campaign, the new running
mates managed to display a personal connection that dates back to
Harris' friendship with Biden's son Beau, who died of cancer in 2015.
Harris said she had long admired Biden's commitment to his family and
country, and she described him as ready to meet the challenges created
by Trump's failures in handling the pandemic and its economic
consequences, as well as racial unrest.
"This is a moment of real consequence for America," she said.
"Everything we care about our economy, our health, our kids, the kind
of country we live in its all on the line."
"America is crying out for leadership, yet we have a president who cares
more about himself than the people who elected him, a president who is
making every challenge we face even more difficult to solve," Harris
said.
The speech, delivered in a Delaware high school gymnasium near Biden's
home, featured no cheering crowds. The two candidates wore masks as they
arrived and kept their social distance on a stage flanked by state
flags.
The joint appearance came just days before Biden will formally accept
the Democratic presidential nomination at next week's party convention,
which will take place largely as a virtual event due to COVID-19.
The Republican convention, where Trump is set to be nominated to seek a
second four-year term, follows a week later and kicks off a 10-week
sprint to Election Day on Nov. 3.
STUFF OF PRESIDENTS
In choosing Harris, Biden selected a former rival for the nomination
whose most memorable campaign moment came during a televised debate when
she criticized his past position on using busing to integrate schools
and talked about its effect on her as a little girl.
Biden on Wednesday said her addition to the ticket sent a powerful
message to girls across America.
[to top of second column]
|
Democratic vice presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris speaks
at a campaign event, on her first joint appearance with presidential
candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden after being named by
Biden as his running mate, at Alexis Dupont High School in
Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., August 12, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
"This morning, all across the nation, little girls woke up -
especially little black and brown girls, who so often feel
overlooked and undervalued in their communities - today, just maybe,
they're seeing themselves in the first time in a new way. As the
stuff of presidents, and vice presidents," Biden said.
In recent months, as unrest has convulsed many U.S. cities following
the May police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis,
Harris has been a prominent voice calling for change. She has
marched alongside protesters and pushed legislation to reform
policing practices.
Some activists have said her work in the Senate had helped temper
concerns about her past as a prosecutor in California and could
build enthusiasm among some of the party's liberal voters for the
more centrist Biden.
Harris is the daughter of immigrants, her mother from India and her
father from Jamaica. On Wednesday, Harris recalled her parents'
involvement in the U.S. civil rights movement, and her friendship
with Beau Biden, who was attorney general of Delaware when Harris
was attorney general in California. She stressed that, like Biden,
"my family means everything to me."
Harris, 55, was announced as Biden's choice on Tuesday after a
selection process that drew extra scrutiny thanks to Biden's age.
The 77-year-old would be the oldest president ever if he wins,
raising speculation that he would not seek re-election in 2024.
At a joint fundraiser with Harris later on Wednesday, Biden said his
campaign had raised $26 million and had 150,000 new contributors in
the 24 hours since he revealed his pick.
Trump told reporters at a White House news conference that he had
watched some of the Biden-Harris rollout event and was surprised his
Democratic opponent had chosen someone who failed in her own
presidential bid.'
Harris thanked Joe Biden and his wife Jill for welcoming her into
their extended family, specifically mentioning the former second
lady, who described Harris' attacks on Biden during the primary
debate as a "punch to the gut."
She said Joe Biden had proven his empathy and connection with those
who are suffering.
"He's someone whose first response when things get tough is never to
think about himself, but to take care of everybody else," Harris
said.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and John Whitesides; Additional
reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Will Dunham
and Sonya Hepinstall)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |