Harris assails Trump, promises compassion over chaos

MILWAUKEE: Vice President Kamala Harris assailed Donald Trump on Tuesday at her first campaign rally since replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate, while a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll showed her taking a marginal lead over Trump, the Republican nominee.

“In this campaign, I promise you I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week,” she told a cheering crowd of several thousands at West Allis Central High School in a Milwaukee suburb in Wisconsin, a crucial battleground state in the Nov. 5 election. “Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?” she asked.

Harris led Trump 44% to 42% among registered voters in the national Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted on Monday and Tuesday after Biden dropped out of the contest on Sunday and endorsed Harris as his successor. Previous surveys taken before Biden’s exit found Harris and Trump tied at 44% a week ago and Trump ahead of her by a percentage point at the beginning of the month.

Harris swiftly consolidated her party’s support after Biden, 81, abandoned his reelection campaign under pressure from members of his party who worried about his ability to beat Trump or to serve for another four-year term.

She wrapped up the nomination on Monday night by winning pledges from a majority of the delegates who at next month’s party convention will determine the nominee, the campaign said.

An unofficial survey of delegates by the Associated Press showed Harris with more than 2,500 delegates, well over the 1,976 needed for the nomination.

The Wisconsin event offered another opportunity for Harris, the first Black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, to reset the Democrats’ campaign. Harris has been raking in campaign contributions. Her campaign said on Monday she had raised $100 million since Sunday, topping the $95 million that the Biden campaign had in the bank at the end of June. While a wave of senior Democrats have lined up behind Harris, the racial justice group Black Lives Matter on Tuesday challenged the party’s swift move.

Trump and his allies have tried to tether Harris to some of Biden’s more unpopular policies, including his administration’s handling of the surge of migrants at the southern border with Mexico.

Wisconsin is among a trio of Rust Belt states, along with Michigan and Pennsylvania, that are critical for Democrats’ chances of defeating Trump. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a Democrat, said Harris could also help bring back crucial Black voters.