Kamala Harris delivered a stinging attack on Donald Trump and his “extremist” Republicans in an address to teachers on Thursday, hoping to mobilize a critical component of the Democratic coalition behind her candidacy for the president.
The country’s first female vice president, who is hoping to create history again in November, has received a surge of support from labor groups, ethnic minorities, and her own party after launching her 11th-hour campaign to replace President Joe Biden as the nominee.
The momentum appeared to catch Trump off guard, as the flamboyant Republican declined to schedule a debate with Harris, claiming Thursday night that it would be “inappropriate” until she was formally named the Democratic nominee.
“Democrats very well could still change their minds,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Harris, a former top prosecutor for California, chided on X: “What happened to ‘any time, any place?’” Earlier she had said of a potential September 10 face-off: “I’m ready. So let’s go.”
The first union to endorse Harris — the American Federation of Teachers — applauded at their convention in Houston as Harris warned that the country was witnessing a “full-on attack” by Trump’s Republicans on “hard-won, hard-fought freedoms.”
“While you teach students about democracy and representative government, extremists attack the sacred freedom to vote. While you try to create safe and welcoming places where our children can learn, extremists attack our freedom to live safe from gun violence,” she said.
“They have the nerve to tell teachers to strap on a gun in the classroom while they refuse to pass common sense gun safety laws.”
Harris, 59, entered the race following weeks of controversy surrounding 81-year-old Biden, who bowed out Sunday after a poor debate performance against Trump fueled doubts about his mental ability and stubbornly low polling numbers.
The speaker, a “proud product of public education,” linked her personal experience to her political beliefs. She emphasized the need of teaching as both personal and professional activity.
Harris linked the event to a core campaign message about refusing to return to Trump’s America, describing her audience as “visionaries” who saw the future.
She also contrasted Democratic attempts to eliminate student debt and her plans for investing in public schools and colleges with Trump’s promise to destroy the Education Department and reduce expenditure in half.
‘Freedom’
Trump, the oldest presidential nominee in US history at 78, has threatened to “not give one penny” of government cash to schools that have vaccine mandates. Such mandates apply to all public schools in America.
The address came as Harris faced more severe rhetoric from Trump, who on Wednesday referred to her as a “radical left lunatic” and wrongly claimed that she supported the “execution” of newborns.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a resolution Thursday denouncing Harris’ record on immigration.
In an encouraging indication for Democrats, Trump and Harris were statistically matched in a new New York Times/Siena College poll, with Harris closing the deficit after Biden was discovered to be six points behind in early July.
One of the most pressing jobs she faces in the near future, however, is forging her own political identity before Trump can characterize her as inextricably linked to the unpopular Biden.
And she has already began spending part of the $100 million or more she has raised in the first few days to convey her personal narrative and rebut Republican portrayals of her as an out-of-touch liberal.
The Harris team attempted to raise an early flag with its first TV broadcast Thursday, an ad utilizing Beyonce’s smash “Freedom,” warning that Americans’ liberties are under threat from Trump’s agenda.
The address came amid a growing backlash over recent statements by Trump’s vice-presidential candidate, J.D. Vance, who singled out Harris when he labeled Democrats a “bunch of childless cat ladies with miserable lives.”
Harris has two stepchildren, and Vance, a father of three, has been accused of representing an outdated Republican worldview.
Jennifer Aniston, a Hollywood star, mentioned her personal infertility, prompting comedian and talk show presenter Whoopi Goldberg to remark, “Now, what the hell?”