WASHINGTON: The two Democratic leaders in the US Congress, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, threw their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris for president on Tuesday, after she secured the backing of most of her party to take on Donald Trump in November’s presidential election.
“Now that the process has played out from the grassroots, bottom up, we are here today to throw our support behind Vice President Kamala Harris,” Schumer said during a joint press conference with Jeffries.
This comes as Harris solidifies her campaign against former President Donald Trump in the upcoming November presidential election.
Harris, 59, has been actively framing her campaign against Trump with a stark narrative of prosecutor versus felon, leveraging her background as a former attorney general of California and a prosecutor. The endorsement from Schumer and Jeffries underscores the Democratic Party’s unified stance behind Harris as she prepares to challenge Trump.
Former Secretary of StateClinton, who faced Trump in the 2016 presidential race, also weighed in, praising Harris’s prosecutorial skills. “This brilliant prosecutor will make the case against convicted felon Donald Trump,” Clinton asserted in a social media post.
Harris herself emphasized her law enforcement background and Trump’s legal troubles during a recent campaign address in Wilmington, Delaware. “Before I was elected as vice president, before I was elected as United States senator, I was the elected attorney general of California,” she reminded her supporters. “In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain.”
She specifically referenced cases involving , including civil suits like the one brought by writer E. Jean Carroll and the controversies surrounding Trump University. Harris’s strategy aims to underscore Trump’s legal vulnerabilities and contrast them with her own record as a prosecutor.
Trump, who has been convicted of falsifying business records in New York, faces additional legal challenges, including federal and state charges related to his actions after the 2020 election. Harris intends to leverage her prosecutorial experience and her history as a skillful questioner during Senate hearings to highlight Trump’s legal entanglements.
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Kamala Harris on Tuesday launched her campaign trail across the United States, marking the start of her bid for the presidency after effectively clinching the Democratic nomination.
Harris, who swiftly garnered enough delegates within 36 hours of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race, has garnered support from prominent figures within the Democratic Party and beyond. Hollywood actor and activist George Clooney, a vocal supporter of Harris’s candidacy, joined a chorus of influential voices endorsing her bid to challenge Trump in November.
With endorsements from Biden and key Democratic figures secured, Harris now stands poised to officially accept the nomination by August 7, well in advance of the Democratic convention in Chicago. The nomination process will include an online vote of convention delegates.
Support for Harris continues to grow, with endorsements pouring in from diverse quarters such as the United Steelworkers Union and philanthropist Melinda French Gates. The backing reflects confidence in Harris’s ability to lead, particularly after Biden’s decision to withdraw amidst concerns over his age and debate performance against Trump.
Meanwhile, Trump has launched scathing attacks against Harris, branding her as “Lyin’ Kamala Harris” and casting doubt on her electability. Despite Trump’s rhetoric, recent polls indicate a tight race between Harris and the 78-year-old incumbent president.
Harris’s choice of Milwaukee for her campaign launch is strategic, considering it recently hosted the Republican National Convention where Trump was officially nominated. The city’s significance underscores Harris’s intent to challenge Trump directly on his own turf.
Harris and Biden are also scheduled to navigate complex foreign policy challenges, including meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington. While Biden focuses on efforts to resolve the conflict in Gaza, Harris will not attend Netanyahu’s congressional address due to prior campaign commitments.
The president was due to return to the White House later Tuesday from his Delaware beach house, having spent nearly a week there in Covid isolation, during which time he made his fateful decision.
Former president Trump — who survived an assassination attempt on July 13 that added to the sense of chaos surrounding the election — has relentlessly slammed both Harris and Biden.
