In first rally, Kamala Harris frames election as choice between ‘freedom and chaos’

Washington: US president Joe Biden has returned to the White House for the first time after dropping out of the 2024 election, as his vice president made her campaign rally debut by taking aim at Donald Trump’s criminality and second-term agenda.

Speaking in the swing state of Wisconsin, just a few kilometres from where the Republican National Convention was held last week, a fired-up Kamala Harris also vowed to unite her party to defeat the former Republican president and framed the election as a choice “between freedom and chaos”.

Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns for president as the presumptive Democrat candidate during an event in Milwaukee.Credit: AP

“We’re not going back!” Harris told the raucous crowd. “Ours is a fight for the future!”

The Wisconsin rally was attended by about 3000 people – the largest Democrat rally so far this season – in another sign of the groundswell of support the vice president has received since Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her on Sunday (US time).

The 59-year-old prosecutor entered the stage to loud and lengthy cheers, as people waved “Kamala” banners from the stands. Outside, lawns and sidewalks were adorned with signs, including one that said: “Kamala Harris changes lives. Watch her change the world.”

And during her speech, as Harris leaned into her history as a prosecutor to highlight Trump’s criminal record, the energetic audience began chanting: “Lock him up! Lock him up!” – echoing the catchcry that Republicans used to chant about Hillary Clinton.

President Joe Biden arrives to board Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base, in Dover, Delaware.Credit: AP

Republicans insist they are not worried, and plan to step up their attacks on Harris by tying her to what they perceive as the administration’s failed policies on immigration, the economy and crime.

“She’s the same as Biden, but much more radical,” Trump told reporters on a press call on Tuesday.

Biden, meanwhile, returned to Washington after recovering from COVID, and will deliver a prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday at 8pm (Thursday 10am AEST) to explain his decision to drop out of the race.

Until his announcement on Sunday afternoon, the president had been determined to dig in, despite internal pressure and concerns about his mental acuity.

US Capitol police detain demonstrators protesting against Israel’s military policies a day before a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will address a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday.Credit: AP

However, he made the call to withdraw after two of his most trusted advisers – Steve Ricchetti and Mike Donilon – presented him with a litany of new evidence showing campaign donations were drying up, his path to victory was gone, and more defections were likely.

On Thursday, Biden will also meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will address a joint sitting of Congress – which some Democrats plan to boycott – before meeting Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Friday.

“Just as I have said in discussions with President Zelensky and other World Leaders in recent weeks, my PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH Agenda will demonstrate to the World that these horrible, deadly Wars, and violent Conflicts must end,” Trump wrote on social media. “Millions are dying, and Kamala Harris is in no way capable of stopping it.”

But Netanyahu’s appearance in Washington has already attracted protests, and Harris, who would ordinarily oversee the joint session as vice president, cannot attend due to a scheduling clash. She is expected to meet with him at a later date.

Democrats hold up signs in support of Vice President Kamala Harris as she campaigns for president.Credit: AP

Her debut on the campaign trail caps off an astonishing period in American politics, in which Democrats have pivoted from despair and disarray over Biden’s candidacy to galvanised and hopeful about their chances in November.

After securing the support of enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee next month, the two top Congressional Democrats, House Democrats leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, also endorsed the vice president.

While some polls still put Trump ahead, one Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on Monday and Tuesday this week had her narrowly leading Trump nationally – 44 per cent to 42 per cent – among registered voters.

But November’s election will largely come down to a handful of key battlegrounds, most notably the “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, which swung to Trump in 2016 but fell back to Biden in 2020.

Harris’ campaign is now vetting potential running mates who could help her be more appealing to centrist voters in middle America, where Republicans plan to portray her as a left-wing radical.

Contenders include Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, North Carolina governor Roy Cooper and Kentucky governor Andy Beshear.

Harris used her first rally as the de-facto presumptive nominee to draw a contrast with Trump, saying the campaign was about “two different visions for our nation”.

“We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead,” she said, citing affordable health care, paid family leave, abortion access, gun reform and “building up the middle class” as key priorities.

“Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law? Or a country of chaos, fear and hate?”

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