Harris launches frontal attack on Trump | ‘I know the type of Donald Trump’

(New York) At the end of a day in which the brand new race for the Democratic nomination seemed to take on the air of a coronation, Kamala Harris brought out the big guns.

In her first campaign speech as a presidential candidate, the Vice President of the United States launched a frontal attack on Donald Trump, comparing the Republican Party’s presidential candidate to the criminals she faced as a prosecutor in California.

“I’ve taken on all kinds of bad guys. Predators who abuse women. Fraudsters who defraud consumers. Cheaters who break the rules for their own gain. So listen to me when I tell you: I know the type of Donald Trump,” she said, addressing staff at Joe Biden’s campaign headquarters, which became hers on Sunday.

« Donald Trump veut ramener notre pays en arrière, à une époque où beaucoup de nos concitoyens américains n’avaient pas encore toutes leurs libertés et tous leurs droits », a-t-elle ajouté en comparant les politiques économiques et sociales de l’ancien président à celles qu’elle entend défendre.

[Ces politiques] don’t lead to prosperity. They lead to inequality and economic injustice. And we’re not going back. We’re not going back.

Kamala Harris

Before Kamala Harris spoke, Joe Biden made his voice heard for the first time since his historic withdrawal.

“The name has changed at the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn’t changed at all,” the president told members of his former campaign team by phone. “And by the way, I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to campaign with Kamala. I’m going to work my butt off, both as a sitting president to pass legislation and to campaign. You know, we still have to save this democracy, and Trump is still a danger to the community. He’s a danger to the nation.”

“Pride and optimism”

Kamala Harris isn’t officially the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee yet, but it feels like it. One by one, her potential primary opponents pledged their support for her Monday, as did several Democratic congresswomen, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Launched the day before, this movement of support for the vice president reflects the desire of Democrats to avoid a fratricidal battle less than four months before the presidential election. It also contributes to the feeling of relief and enthusiasm that has taken hold of many of them after Joe Biden’s historic decision to drop out of the race for the White House.

“Today, it is with immense pride and boundless optimism for the future of our country that I support the candidacy of Vice President Harris for President of the United States,” announced Nancy Pelosi, who played a key role in the president’s withdrawal, early this afternoon.

“My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris is official, personal and political,” she added, before calling the 59-year-old Californian “brilliantly astute” politically.

However, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Democratic counterpart Chuck Schumer have yet to comment on Harris’ candidacy. Rep. Jeffries said the pair will meet “soon” with the vice president, whose candidacy, he said, “has excited the country.”

Barack Obama also maintained his reservations from the day before regarding the candidacy of Kamala Harris. He had then said he was in favor of an “open” process to replace Joe Biden. He is suspected of not wanting to play the kingmaker or queenmaker.

An enthusiastic party

Pelosi’s endorsement came hours before six potential Harris rivals — Governors Andy Beshear (Kentucky), J.B. Pritzker (Illinois), Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan), Wes Moore (Maryland), Tim Walz (Minnesota) and Tony Evers (Wisconsin).

“I support Kamala Harris for president and I will work hard to get her elected because I believe she is the most qualified and capable person to be president,” said Gov. Pritzker, a Chicago billionaire who was particularly frustrated by Joe Biden’s refusal to pass the torch.

I also believe it is high time to break the highest and hardest glass ceiling and finally elect a woman to the presidency of the United States.

JB Pritzker, Governor of Illinois

Governors Gavin Newsom (California), Roy Cooper (North Carolina) and Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania) announced their support for Kamala Harris on Sunday.

Many delegates at the Democratic convention in Chicago followed suit on Sunday and Monday. According to an Associated Press count, Kamala Harris has already received the number of delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination for the 2024 presidential election.

“There is great excitement to see Vice President Kamala Harris become the Democratic Party’s nominee,” said Sharif Street, chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, whose 185 delegates voted unanimously Monday for Joe Biden’s right-hand woman.

Donations are on the agenda

Democrats have also expressed enthusiasm by loosening their purse strings. The Democratic Super PAC Future Forward received $150 million in new commitments from major Democratic donors in the 24 hours following Biden’s announcement.

During the same period, small Democratic donors gave more than $100 million to various candidates, including $81 million to Kamala Harris — a record for a 24-hour period — through the online donation processing site ActBlue used by Democrats.

Back in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, JD Vance contributed to the day’s Republican attacks on Kamala Harris, including denouncing the process by which the vice president could replace Joe Biden as the Democratic leader.

“The idea that we’re going to pick the Democratic nominee because George Soros and Barack Obama and a few Democratic elites got together in a smoke-filled room and decided to throw Joe Biden overboard? That’s not how it works,” Donald Trump’s running mate told supporters gathered in a high school gymnasium.

“This is a threat to democracy, not to the Republican Party, which fights every day for democracy.”

Kamala Harris spokesman Joseph Costello responded: “That’s a bit much coming from the extremist JD Vance who is bought and paid for by Elon Musk and Silicon Valley.”