Last updated on August 29th, 2024 at 07:45 pm
Largo, United States: President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday held their first joint public event since Harris took over from Biden as the Democratic Party’s candidate in the forthcoming November election. The event, which was held at a community college in Maryland, was far from a sober affair, with enthusiastic chants of “Thank you Joe!” coming from members of the audience.
Biden Takes to the Stage, Praising Harris and Announcing Huge Health Care Policy
At the rally, however, Biden heralded an agreement reached to slash medication prices for retirees on welfare programs. All eyes were on Harris, though-a Democratic Party darling and, in recent times, a new frontrunner against Republican candidate Donald Trump since announcing her candidacy to challenge for the presidency.
“She can make one hell of a president,” Biden proudly boasted about Harris.
Trump’s Reaction: To Criticize and Cause Controversy
Shortly after Biden and Harris took to the stage, Trump delivered a press conference from his New Jersey golf club where he assailed Harris, calling her a “very strong communist lean” and prognosticating that under a Harris presidency, “the American dream would be the death.” Trump-who has failed to regain momentum in the campaign since Biden exited the Democratic primary on July 21-continued to boast of his support for Israel in its conflict with Hamas, imploring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “get your victory and get it over with.”
Meanwhile, Trump continued to ramp up his attacks on Harris. At a meeting with Jewish supporters, he claimed she had “embraced the venomous anti-Semites” who are part of the Democratic Party. He has also threatened that when Harris becomes president, she would create chaos because she would compromise America’s foreign policy, particularly relating to Israel.
Biden’s Lame Duck Period and Harris’s Ascendancy
If Thursday’s event seemed something of a turning point for Biden, who accepted that he is now in the lame duck phase of his presidency, Harris-who is to be formally anointed as the Democratic candidate at the party’s convention in Chicago next week-kept vice-presidential respect in her tone, making brief remarks and hailing Biden as the “most extraordinary human being.”
But an energized president, post-event, managed to get a dig at Trump, jokingly mispronouncing his name as “Donald Dump or Donald whatever,” and the crowd laughed in response.
Harris’ Upcoming Economic Plan
This Friday, Harris plans to unveil – for the first time – her economic platform. As the first female, Black, and South Asian vice president, Harris is likely to continue Biden’s economic agenda while trying to find ways to distinguish herself on matters like inflation-the top issue for voters. Harris has a slight edge over Trump, 42% of voters trust her more than 41% for Trump, an increase from earlier this year, according to recent polling by the Financial Times and the University of Michigan.
Trump now joins the two previous oldest candidates as the oldest presidential nominee in U.S. history after an assassination attempt that barely failed to take his life on July 13.