EAU CLAIRE, WI - Speaking in front of a sea of supporters in rural Wisconsin, Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday declared that "the path to the White House wins right through this state and with your help, we will win in November."
Wisconsin is part of the so-called blue wall of states - along with neighboring Michigan as well as Pennsylvania - that the Democrats reliably won in presidential elections for nearly a quarter-century before former President Donald Trump narrowly carried them in capturing the White House eight years ago.
But in 2020, President Biden won back all three states with razor-thin margins as he defeated Trump, and the states remain extremely competitive as Harris and Trump face off in the 2024 presidential election.
So it was no surprise that Harris held her first rally with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz - her newly named running mate - in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, with stops Wednesday in Wisconsin and Michigan. And staying in close proximity was Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.
KAMALA HARRIS AND HER NEWLY NAMED RUNNING MATE KICK OFF A BATTLEGROUND STATE SWING
Walz took aim at Trump at Wednesday afternoon's rally, charging that the former President "sees the world differently than we see it. He has no understanding of service. Because he's too busy serving himself again and again and again."
"This guy weakens our country to strengthen his own hands. He mocks our laws. He sows chaos and division amongst the people. And that's to say nothing of the job he did as president," Walz argued.
Hours earlier, Trump – in an interview on "Fox and Friends" – belittled the naming to the Democrats' ticket of Walz, a former high school teacher and football coach turned Democratic congressman in a red district before winning election and re-election as governor.
VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS NAMES MINNESOTA GOV TIM WALZ AS HER RUNNING MATE
"I could not be more thrilled," Trump said when asked about the announcement from Harris on Tuesday that she chose Walz as her running mate, after also seriously considering Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.
"I was shocked when, when it came down to the final two, that she didn't pick Shapiro. I was very surprised," Trump said.
But the naming of a running mate has been lucrative for the Harris campaign, which highlighted that it had hauled in $36 million in fundraising in the 24 hours since the Walz announcement.
At the rally, which the Harris campaign said attracted a crowd of over 12,000 people to a festival field amid farmland outside this small northwest Wisconsin city, Walz once again argued that Trump and Vance "are creepy and weird as hell."
Vance, at a campaign event miles away, pushed back on the "weird" label, saying that he and Trump are "normal guys who want to make this country great."
In a viral moment, Vance appeared to try and troll the vice president, as he approached Air Force Two at Chippewa Valley Regional Airport, where the senator's campaign plane was also parked.
"I figured that I would come by and get a good look at the plane because hopefully it’s going to be my plane in a few months," Vance said in front of Air Force Two.
And once again pointing out that Harris has yet to sit for a major interview or hold a press conference in the two and a half weeks since she replaced President Biden at the top of the Democrats' national ticket, Vance told reporters "I also thought you guys may get lonely, because the VP doesn’t answer questions from reporters."
Biden dropped his re-election bid on July 21, after a disastrous debate performance against Trump in late June prompted increased questions over whether the 81-year-old president had the physical and mental abilities to serve another four years in the White House. It also sparked a rising chorus of calls from fellow Democrats for Biden to end his re-election bid.
Harris didn't mention her boss at a large rally in Atlanta last week, nor did she or Walz reference the president at their rally Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
But Harris, in her sixth visit to Wisconsin so far this year, praised the president at the top of her comments.
"I want to bring greetings from our incredible president, Joe Biden," Harris said. "He loves Wisconsin, and I know we are all deeply grateful for his lifetime of service to our nation and for all he continues to do."
After the crowd broke out in a chant of "Thank you, Joe! Thank you, Joe!," the vice president responded "that's right. I’m gonna tell him what you said."
