U.S. Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has challenged her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, to a debate, urging him to say whatever he has to directly to her.
Speaking at an election rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday, Harris, 59, remarked that the dynamics of the presidential race shifted once she joined the contest.
Harris officially announced her candidacy after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race for a second term on July 20.
“The momentum in this race is shifting, and there are signs that Donald Trump is feeling it. You might have noticed that he recently pulled out of the September debate he had previously agreed to,” Harris said.
“Well Donald, I hope you’ll reconsider meeting me on the debate stage because, as the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face,” she continued, drawing cheers from the crowd.
“It’s interesting—he won’t debate, but he and his running mate sure seem to have a lot to say about me,” Harris added.
According to the campaign, around 10,000 people attended her rally in Atlanta, a crucial battleground state.
“The road to the White House runs right through this state. You helped us win in 2020, and we’re going to do it again in 2024. Yes, we will,” she declared.
Harris emphasized that the campaign is about more than just opposing Trump. “This campaign represents two very different visions for our nation: one focused on the future, and the other stuck in the past,” she said.
“We’re not going back because ours is a fight for the future—a fight for freedom,” she asserted.
“Across the country, we are seeing a full-on assault on hard-fought freedoms and rights: the freedom to vote, the freedom from gun violence, the freedom to live without fear of bigotry and hate, the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride, the freedom to learn and understand our true and full history, and the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body without government interference,” Harris stated.
“This is a fight for the future and for freedom. I don’t have to tell folks in Atlanta that generations of Americans before us led the fight for freedom. Now, the baton is in our hands—each and every one of us,” Harris concluded.
