Harris makes campaign blitz through North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin
Vice President Harris is making a Wednesday swing through three critical battleground states — North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Harris took her closing message on the road after giving a speech at the Ellipse in Washington the night before, emphasizing the contrast between herself and former President Trump.
“We have an opportunity in this election to turn the page on a decade of Donald Trump trying to keep us divided and afraid of each other,” Harris told a crowd in Madison, Wisc., marking her last stop of Wednesday’s multi-state swing. “That is who he is but … that is not who we are.”
Across all three swing state stops, she sought to cast the former president as divisive and to pitch her campaign as a big tent welcoming voters on both sides of the aisle.
“We know, if he is elected, on day one Donald Trump would walk into that office with an enemies list. When I am elected, I will walk in with a to-do list. At the top of my list is bringing down your cost of living. That will be my focus every single day as president,” Harris said in Harrisburg, Pa.
She outlined her economic plan, including to give a tax cut to 100 million middle class Americans, enact a federal ban on grocery price gouging, boost home affordability and cover home care for seniors under Medicare.
Harris also warned Trump would try to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) disputed Democrats’ assertion that the GOP wants to repeal ObamaCare after the Harris campaign blasted out his comments earlier this week when he said “Trump’s going to go big” on health care reform.
Earlier in the day, Harris shared a message of bipartisanship during her remarks in North Carolina.
“I am asking for your vote and here is my pledge to you: as your president, I pledge to seek common ground and commonsense solutions to the challenges you face,” she said at her first stop in Raleigh. “I am not looking to score political points, I am looking to make progress.”
Harris praised first-time voters at the event, saying “our future is bright” because of them. She also applauded Republicans voting for her and men voting for her to support the reproductive health of women in their lives.
“Remember, your vote is your voice and your voice is your power,” Harris said, stressing that Wednesday marks six days before Election Day.
The vice president was interrupted during her remarks in all three cities by shouting pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
“We are six days away from an election and ours is about a fight for democracy and your right to be heard, that is what is on the line in this election,” she said in Harrisburg. “Everybody has a right to be heard but right now, I am speaking.”
In Raleigh, shouting protesters were quickly drowned out by “Kamala” chants from the crowd.
“We know we’re actually fighting for a democracy, and unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail, I’ll give them a seat at the table,” Harris said after the protest.
In Wisconsin, the vice president closed her remarks with a call to for voters to “be intentional about building community” and to remember “that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us.”
Earlier Wednesday, Harris distanced herself from President Biden’s comments from Tuesday in which he appeared to refer to Trump’s supporters as “garbage.”
“First of all, he clarified his comments, but let me be clear: I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” Harris told reporters as she departed for this three-state swing.
Trump has a 1.4 percentage point lead over Harris in North Carolina, according to the Decision Desk HQ/The Hill’s aggregation of polls. Trump has a 0.6 percentage point lead in both Pennsylvania and in Wisconsin.
Updated: 10:03 p.m. ET
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