Harris Swipes at Trump During LA Fundraiser With Stars
Emphasizing that her campaign rallies drew large numbers, Vice President Kamala Harris used the chance to playfully target former President Donald Trump in a lively Los Angeles fundraiser full of Hollywood A-listers. Speaking to a room full of Stevie Wonder, Keegan-Michael Key, Demi Lovato, and Lily Tomlin, Harris said, "Our crowds are pretty big," in what many perceived as a deliberate reference to Trump's regular boasting about his own rally turnout.
This playful remark was only one of countless times Harris has singled out Trump during the campaign. She ruckled Trump during a recent presidential debate by pointing out that his meandering speeches were causing some of his supporters to leave early from his rallies. Media accounts and pictures of half-empty venues—which the Biden-Harris campaign has been eager to highlight—supported this assessment.
Now the Democratic presidential candidate, Harris has been unrelenting in refuting Trump's personal insults. Trump has consistently attacked Harris over his demonstrations, frequently making hyperbolic assertions on her involvement in what he refers to as a "border invasion." These remarks follow Harris's recent visit to Douglas, Arizona, her first trip to the U.S.-Mexico border since formally ascending as the Democratic front-runner.
Harris is unaffected even with the venom from her Republican opponent. To the delight of her crowd, who politely yelled, "Boring!" in agreement, she discounted Trump's remarks in Los Angeles as little more than "the same old tired show."
Harris has been straightforward about the significance of the election, even while her talks have delighted. She cautioned supporters that the margin could be razor-thin, referring to it as a "margin-of-error" election, given surveys indicating a close contest. She reassured the gathering, though, "Let me be clear. We have going to win.
With earnings from another LA event and another in San Francisco the previous day, the fundraiser alone brought an amazing $55 million for the Harris campaign. Harris is positioned as a major presidential contender with Hollywood's elite on her side and the support of numerous powerful Democratic contributors.
The Hollywood gloss does not, however, eclipse the actual political maneuvers Harris has been involved in. Harris is concentrating on important battleground states while California stays securely blue. Her West Coast trip began in Arizona, a vital swing state where immigration is a particularly divisive topic. Harris made clear her intention to directly challenge one of Trump's main campaign themes by visiting Douglas, a border town.
Long praised for his strict immigration policies, Trump spent most of his rallies accusing Harris of ignoring border issues, even as she visited the very areas he frequently cites as troublesome. Harris's emphasis is more general though. She is also aiming for Nevada, another battlefield state which she has visited often. Harris has staged demonstrations in Las Vegas at sites where Trump has past campaigned, so indicating her readiness to challenge him in regions where their political impact overlaps.
Stakes in Nevada are especially great. Both contenders have been fighting for the support of important voting blocs, particularly the powerful Culinary Union, as the state's six electoral votes can prove to be critical in the election. Representing 60,000 hotel employees in Las Vegas and Reno, the union has backed Harris, applauding her dedication to tackling worker rights and pay disparity. Although both Harris and Trump have promised to remove federal taxes on gratuities for service workers, union groups have highlighted Harris's more general promise to solve sub-minimum wage issues as proof she is "serious" about resolving worker concerns.
The two candidates' approaches differ somewhat dramatically. Trump has kept emphasizing on energizing his base with aggressive rhetoric, while Harris has progressively gained momentum by appealing to grassroots support as well as well-publicized endorsements. Republican former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake recently supported Harris, praising her moral qualities and denouncing of Trump's divisive policies High-profile Republicans like Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz, who endorse Flake, also show comparable actions indicating a growing anti-Trump Republican attitude.
Still, not all GOP detractors of Trump are prepared to support Harris. Former Republican governor and Trump opponent Maryland Senate candidate Larry Hogan has declared that although he won't be supporting Trump, Harris hasn't yet gained his support either. Such resistance emphasizes the difficulties Harris has persuading more moderate Republican voters, even as she reinforces her base.
Harris will go back to Las Vegas for a town hall including Hispanic voters in early October, another important group in Nevada, when the race gets hot. Nevada could be crucial in determining the result of what likely to be one of the closest races in recent memory, given both candidates are often visiting the state.
Harris keeps on the campaign trail in the interim, unaffected by Trump's comments and inspired by her capacity to attract large numbers of people as well as significant financial support. Harris's style of combining humor, policy, and resilience may just be the secret to winning come November as the latter weeks of the campaign approach draw near.
