Kamala Harris defends Biden at Brentwood fundraiser

Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage prior to speaking at a post debate campaign rally, Friday, June 28, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill)

BRENTWOOD – Vice President Kamala Harris Saturday made another defense of President Joe Biden’s debate performance at a fundraiser for the Biden Victory Fund at the Brentwood home of filmmaker Rob Reiner.

Discussing what she called the “elephant in the room,” Harris acknowledged Biden‘s performance wasn’t his “finest hour,” but said that if you put aside the “style points” the debate showcased a clear contrast between the candidates.

Harris also called former President Donald Trump “a threat to our democracy” who looks up to dictators and will weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies.

Harris emphasized that the stakes of the election are higher than ever and said “none of that changed because of a day in June,” referencing the debate.

Biden‘s performance prompted a New York Times editorial headlined, “To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race.”

“At Thursday’s debate, the president needed to convince the American public that he was equal to the formidable demands of the office he is seeking to hold for another term,” the editorial said. “Voters, however, cannot be expected to ignore what was instead plain to see: Mr. Biden is not the man he was four years ago.

“The president appeared on Thursday night as the shadow of a great public servant. He struggled to explain what he would accomplish in a second term. He struggled to respond to Mr. Trump’s provocations. He struggled to hold Mr. Trump accountable for his lies, his failures and his chilling plans. More than once, he struggled to make it to the end of a sentence.”

The fundraiser was billed as a Pride-themed garden party honoring the 11th anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s June 26, 2013, ruling against Proposition 8, the 2008 California ballot measure declaring that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California that was later overturned by courts.

Harris also used the 22-minute speech to frame the election as a fight for the principles of America, including the promise of freedom, liberty, justice and equality, discuss her national college tour and saying that ongoing attacks on LGBTQ+ rights are closely intertwined with attacks on voting rights and reproductive rights.

“What we know in any movement about freedom and liberty is that we stand on broad shoulders of the folks who came before us and we are sitting here right now together because they passed us the baton in this relay race of history,” she said while wrapping up her speech. “And the question is, while we are carrying the baton, what are we going to do with it?”

The fundraiser was Harris’ third campaign event in the Los Angeles area in four days.

Harris spoke Wednesday night at a Biden Victory Fund fundraiser at the Bradbury home of Dr. Asif Mahmood, and Friday evening at a campaign event in Los Angeles that was closed to reporters.

Harris also spoke Friday at campaign events in Las Vegas and Park City, Utah.

The vice president previewed Thursday’s presidential debate and discussed abortion rights in a 12 minute speech Wednesday to about 50 people.

“I will tell you the debate is going to frame the race,” Harris said.
Harris spent a large part of her 12-minute speech at a late-morning rally Friday at the East Las Vegas Community Center aimed at Hispanic voters discussing Biden’s record and debate performance.

“In a real leader, character matters more than style,” Harris sa“Trump does not have the character to be the president.”

“Only one candidate on that stage has the endorsement of his vice president,” Harris added to laughs, referring to the fact that former Vice President Mike Pence has not endorsed Trump in 2024.

Harris said that she is confident in Biden’s abilities to lead, despite a debate performance Thursday night that was widely panned, even by some Democrats.

“In the Oval Office, negotiating bipartisan deals, I see him in the Situation Room keeping our country safe,” Harris said. She further said that the race will not be decided by “one night in June.”

RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement Thursday that “The American people know what they just saw: Joe Biden further embarrassed the United States with tonight’s debate performance, and he is too weak to serve as commander in chief. Biden’s cognitive decline has made him entirely unfit for office, and his open-border bloodbath, destructive economic policies and emboldening of chaos around the world have made all families worse off.”

Democrats have carried Nevada in each of the last four presidential elections after losing eight of the previous 10, but two polls conducted in June – all before Thursday’s debate – showed the race is about even while a third showed Trump slightly ahead.

Harris spoke later Friday at the Park City, Utah home of Mark and Nancy Gilbert. Mark Gilbert was U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa from 2015-17, an investment banker and played seven games for the Chicago White Sox in 1985, batting .273 in 22 at-bats with three runs batted in.

Harris shared similar points to her rally in Las Vegas, highlighting Biden’s record on infrastructure, drug pricing and abortion access. She again said the president’s debate performance had “a slow start” but added that Biden is a “profound thinker.”

“The list of accomplishments reads like a CVS receipt, it just goes on and on,” Harris said about Biden’s presidency.

In a statement issued Thursday night, Trump campaign senior advisors Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said, “Biden was unable to defend his disastrous record on the economy and the border. Throughout the debate Biden lied, invented stories, and could not articulate a single plan to make things less expensive and keep our people safe, choosing instead to change the subject and dwell on the past.

“Even worse, Biden couldn’t explain why he took a week of vacation at Camp David while 50 ISIS terrorists ran loose in our country. President Trump is spot-on when he says that if Joe Biden is too incompetent to stand trial, then Biden is too incompetent to be president.” (CNS)