ATLANTA — Vice President Kamala Harris is facing a new barrage of Republican attack ads seeking to define her as she begins her campaign. She hit back on immigration and border security issues Tuesday night before an angry crowd of thousands in a packed arena.
Harris shouted “Kamala” against herself and “lock him up” against former President Donald Trump and began her wave of attacks by referring to her experience as Attorney General of California, the largest border state in the USA.
“In that job, I walked with law enforcement officers through underground tunnels on that border between the United States and Mexico,” Harris said. “I pursued transnational gangs, drug cartels and human traffickers who had come into our country illegally. I prosecuted them case after case and won.”
“Donald Trump, on the other hand, has talked big about securing the border, but he does nothing. Or as my friend Quavo says, he doesn't do anything he says,” Harris said, referring to lyrics by the Atlanta rapper who had recently endorsed her.
With her comments, Harris has so far sharply refuted Republicans' claims that she lacks the will and experience to secure the border. As vice president, she failed to do so and as president, she will again be ineffective on this issue.
“This is America's border czar, and she has failed us. Under Harris, over 10 million are here illegally,” says the new Trump ad about Harris. The narrator ends with the words: “Kamala Harris. Failed, weak, dangerously liberal.”
Immigration and the border have been one of Trump's strongest issues throughout the campaign. Harris, holding her second rally as a presidential candidate after taking over from President Joe Biden this month, went on the offensive on immigration, criticizing Trump for his role in thwarting a bipartisan bill that would have passed tough reforms at the border, including a provision that would allow the president to close the border if crossings reach a certain mark.
“Our administration has been working on the most significant border security bill,” Harris said.
“It was all ready to pass, but at the last minute, Trump instructed his allies in the Senate to vote against it. He let the bipartisan deal fail because he thought it would help him win an election,” she said to applause, before concluding: “Donald Trump doesn't care about border security. He only cares about himself.”
She also angered Trump for reneging on his promise to debate her. Trump now says he will wait until the Democratic slate is finalized after the historic candidate swap this month.
“Well, Donald, I really hope you reconsider meeting me on the debate stage,” Harris said, taunting her opponent. “Because as the saying goes, if you have something to say, say it to my face.”
Harris was encouraged by a crowd that soaked up every word, including her condemnation of Trump and his vice presidential candidate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, as “just weird.”
She spent little time actually urging voters to go to the polls in November—largely because she didn't have to. The nearly 10,000 people who turned out in Atlanta, the largest crowd of the campaign yet, were well aware of the task they would face in November.
The crowd was fired up by a series of Atlanta dance classics, from Soulja Boy's “Crank That” to Usher's “Yeah!”, as well as a performance by Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion, before some of Georgia's most prominent Democrats urged them to repeat the record turnout that put Biden in the White House and Senate in 2020. Speakers also attacked Trump, who was indicted last year on charges of an alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results just blocks away at the Fulton County Courthouse.
“The American people are the jury, we will make the right decision and send Kamala Harris to the White House,” said Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock.
State Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikema Williams said: “Not only is he still a loser in Georgia, he's also a 34-time convicted felon. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to make him a loser again.”
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said: “Kamala Harris has proven she is willing to prosecute the case against Donald Trump. Who better to take on a convicted felon than a prosecutor?”
When Harris took the stage, the crowd was bursting with energy.
“If you’ve never voted, make sure you vote because this is a real election,” Quavo said.
The Harris campaign office in Georgia wrapped up a weekend of events specifically designed to appeal to a voter base already excited about the woman at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Across the state of Georgia this weekend, the campaign held over 174 events, recruited thousands of new volunteers and opened three new field offices to increase its chances of retaining the majority in a state that Biden narrowly won in 2020.
