Harris rallying in Wisconsin same night as DNC because she’s still the ‘underdog’: Campaign official
(MILWAUKEE) — Vice President Kamala Harris is holding a rally Tuesday night in Milwaukee — in the middle of the Democratic National Convention — at the same arena where former President Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination just a month ago.
A Harris campaign official said they aren’t just doing a “victory lap” because of the momentum around the vice president — instead they’re choosing to hold a rally during the DNC because they still believe they are the “underdogs” and need to work hard to win over voters in battleground states such as Wisconsin, according to the official.
These critical voters won’t be in Chicago, and Harris needs to “meet them where they are,” the official said.
Milwaukee is “a place where we need to increase turnout and it’s a good high-momentum, high-energy moment to dig in and talk to folks,” the official added. “We want to make this bigger than Chicago.”
Harris’ Tuesday rally will take place in the Fiserv Forum — the location of the Republican National Convention’s prime-time events and where Trump recently accepted his party’s nomination to a packed house.
“If she can fill up that arena that can hold some 18,000 people — that could get under Trump’s skin,” the campaign official said — a reference to Trump’s focus on crowd size.
In recent weeks, Trump has continued to make baseless claims that the Harris campaign pays for her crowd as his Democratic rival gains momentum with large-scale rallies.
Earlier this month, Trump falsely accused Harris’ campaign of using artificial intelligence to fabricate crowds at a campaign rally in Michigan. A Harris campaign official told ABC News that the photo Trump called into question was taken by a Harris campaign staffer and that it was “not modified by AI in any way.”
Harris’ visit to Wisconsin comes after she spoke at the DNC briefly on Monday night. She is set to speak again at the convention on Thursday night where she will accept the party’s nomination. Her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff is set to speak at the convention Tuesday night ahead of keynote speakers former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.
Democratic voters in the area said Harris needs to frequently visit Wisconsin to win the crucial battleground state. In 2020, President Joe Biden beat Trump by a narrow margin; in 2016, Trump won the state by an extremely narrow margin of about 22,700 votes over Hillary Clinton — less than 1%.
Democratic voters noted that Harris is already doing more than Clinton in 2016, when the former secretary of state did not visit Wisconsin during the general election.
“The last time I felt this much excitement was when Obama ran,” said Wisconsin resident Shannon Mattner, who is planning to attend Harris’ rally. “We just feel like there’s more hope now.”
Daniel Barfouth, a union member from Wisconsin set to attend the rally, says he supports Harris because of her position on unions.
“I like what she has to say about unions. I like how the unions endorsed her,” Barfouth said.
Barfourth drew a sharp contrast between Harris and Trump: “He talks about chaos. He doesn’t talk about hope, connection or anything about love. He talks about tearing everything down.”
Asked what Harris needs to do to win Wisconsin, Barfourth said that Harris needs to continue “putting herself out there as a normal person like everyone else: ‘I’m one of you’. Trump isn’t one of us. He was born with a silver spoon with his mouth. He hasn’t had to suffer for anything.”
(CHICAGO) — Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has been in office since 2023, having previously served as the state’s attorney general.
Before Vice President Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in July, sources told ABC News that Shapiro was a front-runner for the role.
At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Shapiro sat down with ABC News’ Linsey Davis on Tuesday to discuss Pennsylvania’s importance as a swing state, Republican nominee Donald Trump’s comments on her vice presidential selection and some of the comments critics have made about Harris.
ABC NEWS: The most pivotal state in all of this, deemed must-win for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, is Pennsylvania. And joining us now is a Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro. Thank you so much governor, for joining us.
SHAPIRO: Great to be with you. Thanks
ABC NEWS: We just talked about how important your Keystone State is. Donald Trump was there over the weekend, Kamala Harris was there over the weekend. What’s it going to take for Pennsylvania voters in November?
SHAPIRO: Well it’s the ultimate swing state. And the last two presidential races have been settled by a point or less in a state of 13 million people. One race was settled by 44,000 votes, the next by 80,000 votes. So it’s razor thin. Here’s what I’m seeing on the ground though. Incredible enthusiasm for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. A real movement in the polls, and effectively a tied race. Right? A point or two here or there.
But importantly, Kamala Harris is showing up in communities that are oftentimes ignored and left behind, sending a message to Pennsylvanians. She cares about them. She’s focused on the economy. She’s focused on their communities. And I think as this race progresses, you’re going to continue to see real momentum on her part.
ABC NEWS: Former President Trump out on the campaign trail himself today. He has said that he’s been watching the DNC, at least the first night so far. And he told his supporters he watched last night quote “Amazement as they tried to pretend that everything was great. The crime was great, the border was great. There wasn’t a problem at all. No inflation, no nothing.” What do you think about his assessment, about what he’s hearing.
SHAPIRO: Well, great that Donald Trump is spending his time on the couch watching the DNC. Because if he’s watching, clearly he’s going to see an incredibly energetic, diverse group of not just speakers, but an incredible crowd here as well, talking about the issues that matter most to Pennsylvanians and all Americans.
Look, let’s not forget what life was like under Donald Trump. To put succinctly, it was more chaos, less jobs, and a whole lot less freedom when Donald Trump was in charge. And I’ll tell you what, we do not want to go back to that chaos. We do not want to go back to losing our freedoms. Think about on Donald Trump’s watch. Millions of women across this country lost the fundamental freedom to be able to make decisions over their own bodies, and he’s promising to restrict more of our freedoms going forward.
ABC NEWS: It is now day 30 of Kamala Harris’s race. Her website still does not have a policy page just yet. She hasn’t sat down for a sit down interview or done a press conference. There are those who say that as a result, she doesn’t want to, that she’s hiding from voter, that she doesn’t want to actually, confront her, her record. What do you say to that criticism?
SHAPIRO: Well, if it’s day 30, I take your word for it. It feels, by the way, sometimes, like it’s been 300 days and other times like it’s been three days. But, what I’ve seen is Kamala Harris out in the community, I think pretty much every day, making sure that she’s meeting voters where they are.
When she was in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, which for those who don’t follow Pennsylvania politics, is pretty rural county in southwestern Pennsylvania. She was there talking about economic issues, how she would lower costs for families. She was doing the same thing in North Carolina, I believe, if I’m not mistaken, the day or a couple of days before. So she’s out talking about these issues, making sure she’s meeting voters where they are and laying out her vision. I’m sure she’ll continue to do that over the next 30 days.
ABC NEWS: Of course, you made it to the final round of the VP selection, once again over the weekend when Donald Trump was in Pennsylvania. He said “They turned him down because he’s Jewish.” Your reaction to that?
SHAPIRO: Look, Donald Trump has absolutely no credibility to speak on that issue. He is someone who has injected consistently division into our politics, pitting one against another, separating people out and engaging in anti-Semitic tropes and other forms of hatred and bigotry during his time in office. Remember, this is the person who, when a mob was marching in Charlottesville carrying tiki torches, yelling “Jews will not replace us,” this is the same guy who said there are fine people on both sides. There were not fine people on both sides. I will not be lectured by Donald Trump, someone who is morally bankrupt.
What we need right now are leaders who speak and act with moral clarity. That’s what I try to do every day. That’s what Kamala Harris tries to do every day. And let me state very clearly, for the record, there is no role of anti-Semitism in the dialog I had with the vice president. Now there is anti-Semitism in our country. There is other forms of hatred and bigotry in our country. And what we need right now is leaders not to stoke divisions, but leaders to stand up and speak and act with moral clarity. I do that every day. Kamala Harris does that every day. And Donald Trump has yet to do that as the leader of this country or as a would-be leader of this country.
ABC NEWS: Back in 2019, when Kamala Harris was first running for president, she supported a ban on fracking. Now she doesn’t. That’s one policy issue that Republicans point to to say you can’t trust her. That obviously is an important issue in your state of Pennsylvania. How do you explain her shift there?
SHAPIRO: Well, I think she can explain why she’s taking that position. What I will say is that she’s listening to the good people of Pennsylvania. I’m an all of the above energy governor, I think that’s where a lot of people are in Pennsylvania. And that’s clearly where the vice president is. We understand in Pennsylvania that being all of the above on energy means job creation. It also means addressing climate change. You can walk and chew gum at the same time. You can do both. We are proving that in Pennsylvania. And Kamala Harris understands that.
ABC NEWS: You’ve obviously known Kamala Harris for more than 20 years. We’ve heard a lot about her as the politician, the prosecutor. You know her personally. Can you give us some kind of anecdote, something that you might be able to share that we don’t know about her?
SHAPIRO: You know, she’s fun. She’s interesting, and she genuinely cares about people. I think, sometimes you see folks on TV — obviously I mean this as no disrespect — and it’s hard to get to know them. It’s hard to kind of understand what really makes them tick. I think with Kamala Harris, people make her tick. Standing up and helping them, solving their problems, making their lives a little bit better. That’s what makes her tick.
So I’ve enjoyed — Lori [Shapiro] and I have enjoyed — getting to know her and Doug [Emhoff] over many years. They’re wonderful people. They’re caring people. They’re warm people. They just care about folks and they want to do right by them. I know she’s got this slogan in her campaign that comes from her days as a prosecutor “Kamala Harris for the people” She really is like that behind the scenes. She cares about people.
ABC NEWS: Gov. Josh Shapiro, thank you so much for your time. Really appreciate you coming on the show.
(CHICAGO) — Former President Donald Trump is being interviewed on Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in Chicago.
Trump is in conversation with ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott, Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner and Semafor political reporter Kadia Goba.
Trump will be asked about “the most pressing issues facing the Black community,” according to a press release by the association.
“We look forward to our attendees hearing from former President Trump on the critical issues our members and their audiences care about most,” Ken Lemon, the association’s president, said in a statement.
“While NABJ does not endorse political candidates as a journalism organization, we understand the serious work of our members, and welcome the opportunity for them to ask the tough questions that will provide the truthful answers Black Americans want and need to know,” Lemon said.
NABJ is working with Politifact for real-time fact checking on Trump’s comments.
But Trump’s appearance has stoked some criticism. April Ryan, the Washington bureau chief of theGrio who was awarded the NABJ’s “Journalist of the Year” back in 2017, wrote online that his invitation was “a slap in the face.”
Karen Attiah, the co-chair of the convention, resigned earlier this week after the NABJ announced Trump’s appearance. Attiah wrote in a post on X, “To the journalists interviewing Trump, I wish them the best of luck,” explaining that his appearance was only partly behind her decision and that it was “influenced by a variety of factors.”
Others, however, have defended the decision.
MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend, who was formerly Vice President Kamala Harris’s spokesperson, wrote on X: “Some of the best journalists in the country are members of NABJ. So, why wouldn’t they interview Trump? He is the Republican nominee.”
“NABJ didn’t platform Trump. The voters in the Republican primary did. Just like anyone else who is running for President, he should sit for serious interviews and answer real questions,” she wrote.
Vice President Harris was also invited to attend, according to NABJ, which has hosted presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle for years. President Joe Biden, former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have all attended the convention.
NABJ, in a statement on Wednesday, said that it was in contact with Harris’s team for an in-person panel before Biden had dropped out but “were advised by her campaign that her schedule could not accommodate this request.”
“The last update we were provided was that Harris would not be available in person or virtually during our Convention. We are in talks about virtual options in the future and are still working to reach an agreement,” Lemon said.
Though the Associated Press and NPR reported the organization declined an offer for her to appear virtually on Wednesday.
As Trump is in Chicago, Harris on Wednesday will have lunch with Biden at the White House before traveling to Houston, Texas, for a political event and to deliver remarks Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc.’s 60th International Biennial Boule. The sorority is a historically Black organization with hundreds of chapters across the U.S. and internationally.
As the 2024 race ramps up, both Harris and Trump will be looking to shore up support among Black voters.
On the campaign trail this year, Trump’s suggested Black voters relate to his indictment and has frequently claims he will stop undocumented immigrants from taking “Black jobs.”
Harris, who is likely to be the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to head a major party’s presidential ticket, recently encouraged Black voters to help make history by supporting her. In her speech, she pointed to wins under the current administration like the Child Tax Credit that reduced Black child poverty, student loan relief and lowering the costs of prescription drugs.
“In this moment, I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation, one focused on the future, the other focused on the past, and with your support, I am fighting for our nation’s future, and let us be clear about what that future looks like,” Harris said at the event.
A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found enthusiasm for Harris as the Democratic nominee had peaked among Democrats (88%) and Black Americans (70%).
(WASHINGTON) — Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley pushed back against criticism from former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney on Haley’s support for former President Donald Trump despite previous comments saying she found him unfit for office.
In an exclusive This Week interview on Sunday, ABC News co-anchor Jonathan Karl asked Cheney about Haley saying she’s on “standby” to campaign for Trump after the former South Carolina governor openly opposed him in the Republican primaries.
Cheney, who last week endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, told Karl, “I can’t understand [Haley’s] position on this in any kind of a principled way. I think that, you know, the things that she said, that she made clear when she was running in the primary, those things are true.”
During the Republican presidential primary, Haley said Trump lacked focus and that “chaos follows him.” Months later, Haley said she would vote for Trump despite her disappointment with him.
Reacting to Cheney’s remarks, Haley told Fox and Friends Monday morning, “I respect her decision, but she can’t say my decision is not principled. It actually is.”
“We can either vote based on style or we can vote on substance. I’m voting based on substance,” she continued. “I’m looking at the fact we can’t live the next four years like we did the last four years. This is no contest.”
Seeking to contrast Trump with Harris on the economy, border and energy, Haley added, “We should be very clear, if you don’t like him, say you don’t like him, but you can’t say that his policies are worse than Kamala Harris’.”
Haley also directly criticized Trump and running mate Sen. JD Vance when asked about the “gender gap” with women supporting Harris more than Trump.
“I think it’s because Donald Trump and JD Vance need to change the way they speak about women. You don’t need to call Kamala dumb. She didn’t get this far, you know, just by accident — she’s here. That’s what it is. She’s a prosecutor,” Haley said. “You don’t need to go and talk about intelligence, or looks or anything else. Just focus on the policies. When you call even a Democrat woman dumb, Republican women get their backs up too.”
Last month, Trump said he’s “entitled” to the personal attacks aimed at Harris — because he doesn’t respect her and doesn’t “have a lot of respect for her intelligence.”
Haley reiterated that Trump should ditch those attacks to focus on substance.
“The bottom line is, we win on policy. Stick to the policies, leave all the other stuff. That’s how he can win,” Haley said.