Kamala Harris raised US$200 million in first week of White House campaign

Harris campaigned in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday, drawing hundreds to a fundraiser that had been organised when Biden was still at the top of the Democratic ticket. The fundraiser had originally been expected to raise US$400,000 but ended bringing in about US$1.4 million, according to the campaign.

Harris quickly coalesced Democratic support after Biden, whose candidacy fizzled following his disastrous June 27 debate performance against Trump, exited the race. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former House Minority Whip Jim Clyburn, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were quick to announce their support.

Harris at her Saturday fundraiser said she remained the “underdog” in the race but that her campaign was picking up steam.

Meanwhile Trump, his running mate Senator J.D. Vance and their surrogates have stepped up efforts to frame Harris as a far-left politician out of touch with the American mainstream.

Vance said after a stop at a restaurant in Waite Park, Minnesota, on Sunday that Harris has “got a little bit of a bump from her introduction” but predicted it would soon dissipate.

“Look, the people are going to learn her record,” Vance said. “They’re going to learn that she’s a radical. They’re going to learn that she’s basically a San Francisco liberal who wants to take San Francisco policies to the entire country.”

Vance was echoing Trump, who in a campaign appearance with Vance in St Cloud, Minnesota on Saturday, called Harris a “crazy liberal”, accused her of wanting to “defund the police” and said she was an “absolute radical” on abortion. The vice-president, a vocal proponent of abortion rights, has made clear that she will make Republican-backed efforts to restrict reproductive rights a key plank in her campaign.

Senator Lindsey Graham said Harris is “a nice person, but she’s incredibly liberal”.

“If you expect Vice-President Harris to change the course we’re on as a nation, you’re going to be sadly disappointed,” he said. “There is no liberal horse that she has chosen not to ride.”

Netanyahu separately met Harris and Biden at the White House on Thursday. Harris later said she urged Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire deal soon with the militant group Hamas so that dozens of hostages held by the militants in Gaza since October 7 can return home. Harris said she also affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself but expressed deep concern about the high death toll in Gaza and the “dire” humanitarian situation there.

“Frankly, it emboldens Iran and terrorist groups like Hezbollah because they believe that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will continue to put more pressure on Israel than it puts on Iran and its terrorists that are encircling Israel with the stated objective to destroy Israel,” Cotton said of the calls from Biden and Harris for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Trump at his Saturday rally said the Golan Heights incident “will go down as another moment in history created by a weak and ineffective United States president and vice-president”. And Vance on Sunday accused Harris of being “a disaster” on the conflict.

Still, some Republicans are concerned that Harris’ entrance has given Democrats a spark and that Trump needs to recalibrate.

02:06

Kamala Harris, a trailblazer eyeing America’s highest glass ceiling

Kamala Harris, a trailblazer eyeing America’s highest glass ceiling

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said Harris is in “honeymoon” period that will probably last a month, but he also acknowledged that both Trump and running mate J.D. Vance should stop the personal attacks against Harris because those will not drive people to vote. Instead, he said they must stick to the issues and “stay away from the insults”.

He said Trump missed an opportunity to do that in recent campaign events, but “hopefully they can get back on track. I think he was on track for a couple months there. I think that the change in the campaign has kind of fired him up to go against her, personally”.

But Sununu also acknowledged that “nobody can get Donald Trump to do anything. But hopefully the numbers, the polls, will get Donald Trump to realise what was working and what didn’t”.

Graham was speaking on CBS’ Face the Nation, Sununu was on ABC’s This Week and Cotton was on CNN’s State of the Union.