UPDATE at 1:45 p.m. CST on July 23, 2024: Vice President Kamala Harris, who confirmed to a West Allis crowd that she has enough delegates for the Democratic Presidential nomination, discussed holding Donald Trump accountable at length after describing her Vice Presidency and working with Joe Biden during their four years together.
You can watch the speech here in your browser. If that’s not working, click here to view it on YouTube.
VP Harris, who arrived to huge applause, told the crowd she is running a ‘people-powered campaign’ with what she described as “the best 24 hours of grassroots fundraising in Presidential campaign history.”
She also went into detail about why she feels she is equipped to face off against the Republican nominee, Donald Trump:
“I was elected Attorney General of the State of California, and I was a courtroom prosecutor before then, and in those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers and cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump’s type.”
She also described that “building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my Presidency” because “when our middle class is strong, America is strong.”
Other key talking points included women’s reproductive rights, election security and gun violence — more specifically, “red flag laws, universal background checks and an assault weapons ban.”
UPDATE at 1:15 p.m. CST on July 23, 2024: As Vice President Kamala Harris makes her way to West Allis for the first official stop in her 2024 Presidential campaign run, a lineup of Wisconsin politicians join her in support of her campaign and the Democratic party.
Campaign officials told WTMJ they had to change venues late on Monday due to all the requests for entry. With more than 3,000 attendees expected, this marks the largest campaign stop yet — including all those made by President Joe Biden. They also say VP Harris will be introduced by a Wisconsin educator named Leia Esser, who will discuss how student loan relief under the Biden-Harris administration impacted her.
UPDATE at 12:15 p.m. CST on July 23, 2024: Vice President Kamala Harris has touched down in Milwaukee for today’s campaign event.
MILWAUKEE — In the wake of President Joe Biden’s decision to step out of the 2024 Presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris is visiting West Allis Central High School for her first official campaign stop on Tuesday afternoon.
Just days after the RNC, this is the next in a line of high-profile political rallies and events in the pivotal swing state of Wisconsin as we head toward the election in November. This will be Vice President Harris’ first official campaign event since shifting from Joe Biden’s running mate to a leading candidate in the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
620 WTMJ’s Julia Fello (Wisconsin’s Afternoon News) is on-scene at the campaign event, where she’ll provide updates and developments from the first Kamala Harris presidential campaign speech of 2024, along with updates from community members and noteworthy people in attendance.
RELATED: Joe Biden is out & Kamala Harris is in — Local Wisconsin leaders react on Wisconsin’s Afternoon News
Reports suggest a long list of supporters from across Wisconsin will be in attendance including:
- Governor Tony Evers
- Senator Tammy Baldwin
- Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez
- Attorney General Josh Kaul
- Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski
- State Superintendent Jill Underly
- Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson
- Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley
- Chair of the Milwaukee Board of Supervisors Marcelia Nicholson
- Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes Conway
- Former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes
- Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler
A range of state union leaders are also expected to attend.
This is a live, developing story. Updates will be issued as new information comes about and the situation unfolds.
RELATED HEADLINES FROM THE 620 WTMJ NEWS TEAM:
- President Biden to address the nation Wednesday evening
- WATCH: Charlie Sykes on Trump, Biden, and what he enjoyed most about WTMJ
- Wisconsin leaders react to President Biden dropping out of the race for the White House
- Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigns amid criticisms for Trump rally shooting
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