Vice President Kamala Harris recently held an enthusiastic rally in Atlanta, drawing about 10,000 attendees to a packed event featuring rapper Megan Thee Stallion. Just over a week into her presidential run, she declared herself the “underdog” and denounced Republican nominee Donald Trump as a “predator.” This rally is comparable in enthusiasm to those held by former President Trump during his campaign events.
Harris opened her speech with an attack on Trump, positioning herself as a tough-on-crime prosecutor facing off against a serial offender. She highlighted her experience as an attorney general and a district attorney before she was elected vice president, emphasizing how she took on various criminals, including those who abused women and defrauded consumers.
This Atlanta rally marks Harris’ second campaign event as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, following her speech to 3,000 people in Milwaukee last week. The large crowd was a stark contrast to the generally small audiences of President Joe Biden, who ended his campaign on July 21 and endorsed Harris after concerns about his mental acuity were raised by top Democrats.
In her speech, Harris addressed head-on some of her biggest liabilities, such as her role in US-Mexico border policy as Biden’s point person on reducing illegal immigration and the Biden-Harris administration’s economic record. She even claimed that she would “proudly” put her record against Trump’s any day of the week.
Addressing economic concerns, Harris largely focused on what she called “price gouging” and “hidden fees.” She also vowed to double down on plans to cap some rent increases and drug prices. High inflation has caused consumer prices to spike by more than 20% since Biden and Harris took office in January 2021, leading to higher interest rates and increased costs of holding a credit card balance and buying a home.
Harris also focused on abortion rights, an issue where Democrats have an advantage according to polling data, calling it a matter of “freedom.” She assured the audience that she would ensure “the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do.
The Atlanta rally’s energetic and large crowd was a stark contrast to President Biden’s campaign events, which often featured close-in cameras to make supporters look more numerous. This includes a joint rally featuring Biden and Harris in Philadelphia on May 29 that filled less than half of a school gym.
