A roaring crowd of battleground state voters greeted vice president Kamala Harris on Tuesday as she opened her Democratic political case against Republican former president Donald Trump.
On the November election, she said: “It’s a choice between freedom and chaos.”
“In this campaign, I promise you, I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week,” Ms Harris said.
She arrived in the Milwaukee area having received nomination support from Democratic delegates after President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid on Sunday.
It was her first campaign rally since she launched her campaign just two days ago with Mr Biden’s endorsement.
The event reflected a vibrancy that had been lacking among Democrats in recent weeks, adding to the evidence along with millions of dollars in donations since Sunday, that Harris looks to project a sense of steady confidence about the November election.
By stopping in Wisconsin, Ms Harris was going to one of the “blue wall” states along with Michigan and Pennsylvania that Democrats see as essential for securing a presidential victory.
The visit comes a week after the Republican National Convention wrapped up in the city and as Ms Harris works to sharpen her message against the Republican nominee with just over 100 days until election day.
Ms Harris’ trip to the state was a sharp contrast to Mr Biden’s July 6 visit when he was trying to reassure Democrats who were wary after his troubling performance in the June 27 debate against Donald Trump.
In this election, we each face a question: What kind of country do we want to live in?
Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion, and rule of law—or a country of chaos, fear, and hate?
And here’s the beauty of this moment: We each have the power to answer that…
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 23, 2024
Ms Harris is making the most of her professional past as a former district attorney and California attorney general, seeking to draw a contrast with Mr Trump, who is the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes.
“She’s prepared to meet this moment because she was professionally trained to prosecute a criminal, and unfortunately that’s who the Republicans have put forward,” said senator Laphonza Butler.
Ms Harris strode onto the stage to the anthem Freedom from Beyonce’s Lemonade album. She opened by contrasting herself with Mr Trump.
“I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump’s type,” she said.
She also cast her campaign as “people first,” again aiming to draw a contrast with Mr Trump, who she said represented special interests and corporations.
She also portrayed her rival’s policies as being antiquated and backward looking.
“We are not going back,” she said.
That echoed Barack Obama who frequently deployed the refrain during his 2012 re-election fight to argue against Republican ideas.
Mr Trump and his campaign have quickly turned most of their focus on Ms Harris and have said that they were prepared for the change and it did not alter their plans.
The former president has nicknamed the vice president “Lyin’ Kamala Harris”, accused her of not being tough enough on crime as a prosecutor and sought to bind her to the administration’s policies on the border as he seeks to make immigration a focus of his campaign.
But there are signs that Mr Trump seems to be unhappy about facing the younger vice president rather than making his case against the ageing president.
Twice since Mr Biden dropped out, Mr Trump has said the planned second presidential debate should not be hosted by ABC News and suggested it be moved to Fox News, which has a perception of being friendlier to him.
Ms Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, said he was unimpressed by Mr Trump’s attacks, telling reporters on Tuesday, “That’s all he’s got?”
