WEST ALLIS, Wis. — Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday officially launched her presidential campaign, seeking to energize Democrats and paint a deep contrast to former President Donald Trump in the crucial battleground state of Wisconsin.
“I took on perpetrators of all kinds: predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own game,” Harris said of her experience as a U.S. senator, attorney general and prosecutor.
“So hear me out when I say this, I know Donald Trump’s type,” Harris said to loud applause.
The rally in West Allis, a Milwaukee suburb about 90 miles north of Chicago, came a day after Harris locked up the support of enough delegates to likely secure the nomination, which is expected to come formally in early August via a virtual roll call.
And it comes on the heels of a record-setting $81 million raised within just 24 hours of her announcement to enter the race. Harris delivered similar remarks to rally campaign workers in Delaware on Monday — but Tuesday marked her first foray out on the campaign trail as her party's presumptive presidential nominee.
And the historical significance of Harris potentially becoming the first Black woman and first Asian American to lead a presidential ticket was a focal point for many in attendance.
“I’m excited,” said Derick Jenkins, 51, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the “brother” organization of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, to which Harris belongs.
“I was excited before, but it almost seems like it’s personal now. It’s like a big sister is running for the president of the United States,” the Milwaukee resident told the Sun-Times. “So to be a part of that is overwhelming.”
Tuesday also marked Harris’ first public remarks about her newly formed presidential campaign — and she took time to thank President Joe Biden for what he has called a “selfless” decision to drop out.
“I am so very honored, and I pledge to you, I will spend the coming weeks continuing to unite our party, so that we are ready to win in November,” Harris said.
Harris said “building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency,” including providing affordable health care and child care, paid family leave, safety from gun violence and restoring reproductive freedoms.
“We who believe in reproductive freedom will stop Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans because we trust women to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do,” Harris said. “And when Congress passes a law to restore reproductive freedoms, as president of the United States, I will sign it into law.”
Harris’ short 17-minute speech sought to contrast how Trump’s vision is focused on the past while hers looks to the future. The crowd booed when she mentioned Project 2025, the far-right Heritage Foundation’s 900-page blueprint for the next Republican administration that was written and crafted by several former Trump appointees.
Trump has tried to distance himself from the project, posting this month that he knows “nothing” about Project 2025 and didn’t know who crafted it. But Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, has publicly praised it.
“Can you believe they put that thing in writing?” Harris said. “Read it. It’s 900 pages.”
“We are not going back," Harris said. “And I’ll tell you why we’re not going back. Ours is a fight for the future, and it’s a fight for freedom.”
Harris ended her remarks with a chant of, "When we fight, we win," and walked off to Beyonce's "Freedom."
Rallygoers waved freshly printed “Kamala” signs, using them as fans to cool off in a packed, sweltering high school gymnasium. The two-day old presidential campaign is clearly in transition — with Biden-Harris tents outside and Harris for President digital signs inside.
While it was Harris' first trip to Wisconsin as the expected presidential nominee, it was her ninth visit to the battleground state since becoming vice president and her fifth this year. Harris also plans to visit Indianapolis on Wednesday to deliver a keynote speech at a Zeta Phi Beta Sorority event.
Jenkins, the Milwaukee member of Alpha Phi Alpha, heard about Monday's event in West Allis from his fraternity, which he said will be working to mobilize support for Harris, including “e-mails, calls, Zooms.”
“Vice President is AKA, and we want to make sure that we give her full support in this whole campaign,” Jenkins said.
Sangita Nayak, 49, of Milwaukee, got an invite to the event back when it was a Biden-Harris rally, but she said as the daughter of Indian immigrants, Harris at the top of the ticket means even more.
“I never thought in my lifetime there’d be someone with an Indian mom who’s possibly going to be our next president,” Nayak said. “I think she brings a new level of energy to the fight.”
