Delivering a jolt of enthusiasm to a party reeling from weeks of infighting, Vice-President Kamala Harris rallied Democrats on Tuesday in Wisconsin and laid out a fierce argument against former President Donald Trump.

Harris vowed, in her first rally as the de facto Democratic presidential nominee, to defeat Trump by attacking him as a prosecutor would. She defined herself as a tribune of the middle class fighting against a tool of billionaires and as a champion of abortion rights against a man who would deny such rights to all Americans.

Harris offered a far more energetic denunciation of Trump than President Joe Biden, in front of a crowd that her campaign said was the largest she or Biden had addressed since their reelection bid began over a year ago. She walked out to cheers to the tune of Beyoncé’s Freedom, which the singer had allowed her to use. As one attendee put it, the moment felt like a release of months of pent-up Democratic energy.

Interrupted several times by chants of “Ka-ma-la”, Harris demonstrated how Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race and her elevation have transformed a desultory, almost perfunctory campaign into a bastion of enthusiasm. She highlighted the $100 million in contributions since Sunday and took a victory lap for effectively wrapping up the Democratic presidential nomination within 48 hours.

The vice-president recycled phrases from her 2020 presidential campaign, calling her bid “people-powered” and promising that, as President, she would prioritise the needs of the middle and working class over the desires of corporate interests and the wealthy.

And in a nod to her relative youth — she is 59, decades younger than the 81-year-old Biden and the 78-year-old Trump — and her potential to become the first woman elected as president, Harris placed the 2024 campaign on a continuum with the civil and voting rights struggles of America’s past.

“The shoulders on which we stand, generations of Americans before us led the fight for freedom and now, Wisconsin, the baton is in our hands,” she said. “We who believe in the sacred freedom to vote will make sure every American has the ability to cast their ballot and have it counted.”

Nominee clarity

The Democratic National Committee offered new clarity on how the party will formalise its next nominee, who is almost certain to be Harris, in a set of draft rules released on Tuesday. According to the proposed rules, candidates for the nomination must demonstrate they have met the qualifying criteria by July 30.

New York Times News Service