Harris holds 1st fundraiser as Democratic nominee, attracts donors' support

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Vice President Kamala Harris used her first fundraiser since becoming the Democrats' likely White House nominee to excoriate the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump as determined to roll back Americans' freedoms.

Harris travelled to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday where she was expected to raise more than $1.4 million, her campaign announced, from an expected audience of about 800 people at the Colonial Theatre. That would be $1 million-plus more than the original goal set for the event before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

She told an excited group of supporters that she entered the race as an underdog, while expressing confidence that her surging campaign could defeat Trump.

I will fight to move our nation forward, Harris said. Donald Trump intends to take our country backwards.

Harris also poked at Trump, and his running mate Sen. JD Vance, for lobbing peculiar attacks at her and other Democrats. The vice president appeared to be alluding to a 2021 interview with Vance in which he slammed some Democratic lawmakers without biological children, including Harris, as childless cat ladies with no direct stake in America.

You may have noticed Donald Trump has been resorting to some wild lies about my record and some of what he and his running mate are saying, it is just plain weird, Harris said. I mean that's the box you put that in, right?

Supporters for the fundraiser at the Colonia Theatre included musician James Taylor and many of the state's Democratic heavyweights, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, former Gov. Deval Patrick and Rep. Richie Neal.

Harris took in more than $100 million in donations in the first 48 hours after Biden quit the race, a presidential record, and aides said she has continued to raise money at a steady clip.

This is a people-powered campaign, Harris said. And we have momentum.
 

Harris, a former prosecutor in her home state of California, also derided Trump for his legal troubles. She noted his recent conviction on 34 counts of fraud in New York, a jury finding the former president of being liable for sexual abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, and a $25 million settlement paid to attendees of the now-defunct real estate seminar called Trump University.

I've been dealing with people like him my entire career, Harris said. She added, So in this campaign, and I say in all seriousness, I will proudly put my record against his any day.

Harris began her remarks with praise for Biden, who opted to end his reelection bid and endorse Harris last weekend after his campaign fell into a tailspin following his disastrous June 27 debate performance against Trump.

She called Biden's legacy of accomplishment over the past three and a half years unmatched in modern history.

Trump at a campaign event in Florida on Friday called Harris the worst vice president in US history. He said that if elected she would be a poor steward of the economy and would govern as a radical liberal who would fill the federal court systems with far-left judges and impose crazy San Francisco liberal values on Americans nationwide.

The vice president told supporters that her economic agenda would sharply contrast with Trump's, who she claimed is squarely focused on lowering tax rates for wealthy Americans and improving the bottom lines of corporations.

Building up the middle class will be the defining goal of my presidency, Harris said. She added, Let us make no mistake, this campaign is not just about us versus Donald Trump. Our campaign has always been about two very different visions for our nation.