A roaring crowd of battleground state voters on Tuesday greeted US Vice President Kamala Harris as she opened her public case against former US president Donald Trump by declaring that November’s election would be “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,” Harris said. “We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead.”
“Donald Trump wants to take our country backward,” Harris told the crowd in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?”
Photo: Reuters
Harris arrived at the rally having locked up nomination support from Democratic delegates after US President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid on Sunday. It was her first campaign rally since she jumped into the race with Biden’s endorsement.
The event reflected a vibrancy that had been lacking among Democrats in the past few weeks, and Harris was intent on projecting a sense of steady confidence about the November election.
She had pulled in US$100 million in donations since Sunday afternoon and on Tuesday picked up the backing of more Democratic officials and political groups, including US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and US House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
By stopping in Wisconsin, Harris was putting down a marker in one of the “blue wall” states along with Michigan and Pennsylvania that Democrats see as essential for securing a presidential victory.
The visit came a week after the Republican National Convention wrapped up in the city after nominating Trump as the party’s presidential candidate.
Harris’ trip to the state was a sharp contrast to 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 Trump.
Harris strode onto the stage to the anthem Freedom from Beyonce’s Lemonade album.
Where Biden used to target Trump as a broad threat to democracy, Harris took a more personal, targeted approach, echoing comments she made to campaign workers on Monday by pointing to her record as a California prosecutor who had dealt with what she said were “predators” and “fraudsters,” such Trump, who is the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes.
“I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week,” she said.
Harris also cast her campaign as a “people first” endeavor, again aiming to draw a contrast with Trump, who she said represented special interests and corporations.
Additional reporting by AFP
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS