‘We are not going back’ vows Kamala Harris as she hits out at Trump in campaign rally speech
Kamala Harris tonight turned a pre-arranged stop in a swing state into a barn-storming, foot-stomping, first campaign speech - ITV News US Correspondent Dan Rivers has the details
Kamala Harris vowed America "would not go back" as she hit out at Donald Trump during the first rally since announcing her presidential campaign.
Harris, who has received the backing of several top Democrats, led chants of "we are not going back" during her speech in Milwaukee on Tuesday.
She said: "When our middle class is strong, America is strong, but Donald Trump wants to take our country backwards – he and his extreme Project 2025 agenda will weaken the middle class."
She continued her scathing attack on Trump, highlighting his recent guilty verdict, and previous allegations of sexual abuse. The crowd chanted "lock him up" in response.
"Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?" she posed.
Harris also referenced the surge of donations to her campaign. After Biden's exit from the presidential race, her campaign set a new 24-hour record for presidential donations raising $81 million on Monday.
"We just had the best 24 hours of grassroot fundraising in presidential campaign history," she said.
"Because we are a people powered campaign, that is how you know we will be a people-first presidency."
Harris also vowed to put a stop to former President Donald Trump’s abortion bans, which she called "extreme".
"We trust women to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do,” she added.
She once again referred to her time as a prosecutor to insult Trump, after making similar points in a speech to campaign staff on Monday.
“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," she said.
"So hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump’s type.”
Acknowledging the fact there are just over 100 days until the presidential election, Harris admitted the party has work to do, but said she is "not afraid of hard work".
She made the remarks in Milwaukee, during her first rally since announcing her presidential campaign.
The city in Wisconsin also hosted the Republican National Convention earlier this month, and marks Harris' first visit to a battleground state since taking control of the Democrat nomination.
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Harris announced on Tuesday she had earned enough support from fellow Democrats to become the party's presidential nominee.
By Monday night, Harris had the support of more than the 1,976 delegates she’ll need to win the Democratic nomination, according to the AP tally.
It follows current President Joe Biden's surprise announcement on Sunday that he would drop out of this year's race to the White House.
He endorsed Harris, currently his vice president, soon after - and a flurry of top Democrats pledged their support in the following days.
She began her speech in Milwaukee by speaking about current President Joe Biden, calling her tenure as vice president one of the "greatest honours of my life".
Biden will address the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening on his decision to drop his 2024 Democratic reelection bid.
Posting on X, he said that he would speak “on what lies ahead” and how he would “finish the job for the American people.”
The president is scheduled to return to the White House on Tuesday after isolating at his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, home after being diagnosed last week with Covid-19.
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