EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Vice President Kamala Harris addressed a crowd of supporters in rural Wisconsin on Wednesday, declaring, “The path to the White House is the path to winning this state, and with your help, we can win in November.”
Wisconsin, along with neighboring Michigan and Pennsylvania, is part of the so-called “Blue Wall” states that Democrats reliably won presidential elections in for nearly a quarter-century until former President Donald Trump narrowly took the White House eight years ago.
But President Biden defeated President Trump in 2020 and narrowly won all three states, meaning they will remain highly competitive as Harris faces off against President Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
So it was no surprise that Ms. Harris held her first rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday with newly-nominated running mate Tim Walz of Minnesota, then made stops in Wisconsin and Michigan on Wednesday, not far from Mr. Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
Kamala Harris and her new VP pick win in battleground states
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris is welcomed by Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz before speaking at a campaign event in Eau Claire, Wis., Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Walz harshly criticized Trump at a rally on Wednesday afternoon, saying, “The former president sees the world differently than we do. He doesn’t understand the meaning of service because he’s too busy serving himself.”
“This man is undermining our country to strengthen his own power, making a mockery of our laws and sowing confusion and division among our citizens, not to mention his job as president,” Walz argued.
Hours earlier, in an interview on “Fox & Friends,” Trump had scorned the Democratic nomination of Waltz, a former high school teacher and football coach who ran for Congress in a Republican district and then won reelection after winning the gubernatorial election.
Vice President Harris picks Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as running mate
Asked about Harris’ announcement on Tuesday that she had chosen Walz as her running mate, after also seriously considering Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Trump said he “couldn’t be more excited.”
“When it was narrowed down to the two finalists, I was shocked that she didn’t choose Mr. Shapiro. I was very surprised,” Trump said.
But the vice presidential nomination has been a boon for Harris’ campaign, which noted that it raised $36 million in the 24 hours after Waltz announced his nomination.
At a rally that Harris’ campaign said drew more than 12,000 people to a shrine on farmland outside the small northwestern Wisconsin city, Walz again claimed that Trump and Vance were “super creepy and weird”.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, held a large rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on August 7, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Speaking at a campaign event a few miles away, Vance rejected the “kook” label, saying he and Trump were “regular people who want to make our country great.”
In a moment that went viral online, Vance appeared to be trying to poke fun at the vice president as he approached Air Force Two at Chippewa Valley Regional Airport, where the senator’s campaign plane was also parked.
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“I thought I’d come by to get a good look at this plane because in a few months this could be my plane,” Vance said in front of Air Force Two.
Vance also noted that two and a half weeks after Harris took over from President Biden to head the Democratic National Convention, she has yet to appear in any major interviews or press conferences. “I thought some of you might be feeling a bit lonely not having the vice president answering your questions,” he told reporters.
Biden dropped out of his reelection bid on July 21 after a disastrous debate with Trump in late June raised questions about whether the 81-year-old president was physically and mentally capable of serving another four years in the White House, and there were growing calls among Democrats for Biden to end his reelection bid.
Harris did not mention her boss at a large rally in Atlanta last week, and neither she nor Walz mentioned the president at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
But Governor Harris, who was in Wisconsin for her sixth visit this year, began her comments by praising the president.
“I want to convey greetings from our incredible President, Joe Biden,” Harris said. “He loves Wisconsin, and I know we are all deeply grateful for the lifelong service he has given and continues to give to our country.”
After the crowd chanted, “Thanks, Joe! Thank you, Joe!” the vice president replied, “That’s right. I’m going to tell him what you said.”
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