At a tense moment in President Biden’s re-election campaign, as he faces calls to withdraw over serious missteps during last week’s debate, Vice President Kamala Harris addressed donors at a private fundraising event in San Francisco on Tuesday, framing the election as a choice between civil liberties and dictatorship.
“Let’s just address the elephant in the room. There are actually two: one is the debate, and the other is Trump” Harris said to loud laughter from a group of about 35 supporters at real estate executive Susan Lowenberg’s apartment on Nob Hill, in a skyscraper overlooking the city and the bay.
“The debate, as the president said, [was] not his finest hour. We all know that,” Harris told the room. But the outcome of the election, she added, “cannot be determined by one day in June.”
“It’s still true that the stakes are so high in this election. It’s still true that the race is close. It’s still true that there’s a stark contrast on the two sides of the split screen in terms of who stands for what and what each has accomplished,” she said. “And it’s still true that Trump is a liar.”
Her attendance at the San Francisco fundraiser came on the same day that Trump’s campaign reported raising $331 million, compared to the $264 million Biden raised in the second quarter of this year, erasing the financial advantage Biden previously held over Trump.
“President Trump’s campaign fundraising is booming day after day and month after month,” top Republican campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement. “This fundraising momentum is likely to increase even further as we head toward a world-class convention and watch Democrats continue their circular firing squad following Biden’s debate collapse.”
Harris declined to comment further on Biden’s performance at the debate, while a Times reporter was present at the private fundraising event on Tuesday.
Elizabeth Ashford, a Democratic strategist who served as Harris’s chief of staff during her tenure as California’s attorney general, praised Harris’s focus in recent days on delivering a clear, unambiguous message to an anxious American electorate. Harris’s job, Ashford said, is to focus on the administration’s performance and to show voters — without actually saying it — that she can step in when necessary to effectively lead the nation.
“That’s what I would totally focus on,” Ashford said. “One of Kamala’s areas of growth is that she’s become really confident in how she communicates. And this is that moment.”
A new CNN poll finds that about 75% of voters think Democrats would have a better chance of keeping the White House if they traded Biden for someone else. The poll also found nearly equal support for Harris and Trump in a hypothetical matchup — with 47% of registered voters surveyed nationwide saying they would back Trump and 45% saying they would vote for Harris. The same poll found the gap between the current likely candidates was wider, with 49% backing Trump and 43% backing Biden.
At Tuesday’s fundraiser, Harris appeared at ease in a room full of loyal donors and friends who have been active in politics in San Francisco since she started as a district attorney 20 years ago.
Harris touted the administration’s policy achievements, such as capping the price of insulin for seniors on Medicare and eliminating student loan debt for millions of borrowers. She highlighted the White House’s commitment to mitigating climate change through investments in green energy, and its support for reproductive freedoms and other rights for women and marginalized communities.
“There is a realization among the American people that there is a full-blown attack — a deliberate attack — on hard-won, hard-won freedoms and liberties,” she said.
Those stakes were “raised even higher” with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Monday that gave Trump — and potentially future presidents — legal immunity from criminal charges arising from official actions while in office, Harris said.
“And let’s not forget that Donald Trump has openly said that he admires dictators and plans to ‘be a dictator on day one,'” Harris said. “We have to fight, and we know how to fight.”
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
