US 2024 election: If you’ve got something to say, say it to my face, Harris dares Trump

United States Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday attacked Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate in the forthcoming US November presidential election to a debate debate with her face to face.

Harris said this to a boisterous, packed Atlanta arena. Her trip to Atlanta, Georgia, comes as re-energised Democrats regard the swing state as being in play again after it looked beyond hope under President Joe Biden before his shock withdrawal from the presidential race.

The presumptive Democratic nominee is aiming to expand the party’s 2024 battleground map and appeal to young Black voters, delivering a firm, 20-minute speech to about 10,000 supporters in a packed arena and pledging Americans “are not going back” to the “failed policies” of Trump.

“Now, the baton is in our hands. We have a fight in front of us… And we are the underdogs in this race,” Harris said to a loud applause.

Harris’s presidential bid took off following Biden’s July 21 exit from the race, with much of the party coalescing behind her and her campaign raising a staggering $200 million.

“The momentum in this race is shifting, and there are signs that Donald Trump is feeling it,” she said.

Trump had recently said he would forego political tradition and not debate Harris, and also unleashed a barrage of insults against his rival, calling her “crazy” and a “bum.”

“Well Donald, I do hope you’ll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage, because as the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face,” Harris said, to roars of approval.

Harris also repeated her popular line about how, as a former prosecutor and California attorney general going up against predators and fraudsters, she knows “Donald Trump’s type.”

READ ALSO: Trump attacks VP Kamala Harris, labels her a ‘left-wing extremist’

“In this campaign, I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week,” she asserted.

However, with just 98 days before the election, Harris is under pressure to announce her vice presidential pick. Asked Tuesday whether she had chosen one, Harris told reporters: “Not yet.”

The search must be nearing a conclusion, however, as her team announced Tuesday that Harris and her new running mate would campaign next week in battlegrounds Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

With the White House race turned on its head, 59-year-old Harris on Tuesday unveiled her first television ad since replacing Biden, while the Trump camp released a duelling spot attacking her on the crucial election issue of immigration.

Harris swatted away the attack, saying in her speech that while the Biden administration worked with conservatives to craft critical border legislation, Trump “tanked” it for political gain.

“Donald Trump does not care about border security,” she said. “He only cares about himself.”

Harris said if elected she would focus on key economic goals such as expanding affordable health care and tackling rising consumer costs.

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