AFP
Charly TRIBALLEAU
Kamala Harris takes her surging US presidential campaign on a battleground bus tour Sunday, before heading to the Democratic National Convention for a star turn that will be shadowed by protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
The vice president, riding a wave of enthusiasm after replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket less than a month ago, will dash to the swing state of Pennsylvania to push her case against Republican rival Donald Trump.
Then the 59-year-old will jet to Chicago for a rapturous reception from Democrats, who have dared to hope again after an astonishing turnaround which has seen Harris wipe out Trump’s lead in the polls.
Security will however be tight with tens of thousands of protesters expected to rally from Sunday and then on every day of the convention against the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza.
The demonstrations are expected to begin on Sunday and continue on Thursday, with major gatherings scheduled for Monday and Wednesday in particular.
The four-day Democratic bonanza comes hot on the heels of one of the most tumultuous election cycles in memory, including an assassination attempt on Trump and the 81-year-old Biden’s stunning withdrawal.
The 78-year-old Trump has struggled to adapt to a shake-up which has suddenly made him, instead of Biden, the oldest presidential candidate in US history.
Trump has lashed out at Harris with increasingly bizarre personal insults despite appeals by Republicans to stick to the issues.
As he too headed to Pennsylvania for a rally on Saturday, the former president doubled down on his confrontational style, saying that he was “much better looking” than Harris and branding her a “lunatic.”
Pennsylvania, in the US rust belt, is perhaps the most prized of all the swing states that could define the 2024 race and the candidates are making repeated visits there.
New Democratic standard-bearer Harris was squeezing in some crucial campaigning with running mate Tim Walz on Sunday, launching a bus tour from Pittsburgh before making multiple stops across western Pennsylvania to woo blue-collar voters.
All eyes will turn on Monday to the Chicago convention, which is Harris’s big chance to tell her story to an American public that is still getting to know the candidate after her rapid rise from being merely Biden’s vice president.
Harris is due to speak on the final day on Thursday, but CNN reported that she will also appear on stage with Biden when he gives his speech on Monday, in a show of unity despite the president’s new lame-duck status.
The ageing president is reportedly still frustrated by the way Democrats pushed him out after a catastrophic debate performance against Trump in June.
But Biden is expected to focus on passing the torch and on the threat to democracy posed by Trump as he seeks to cement his legacy by helping his vice president to victory.
He will be backing the new nominee as well as trumpeting his own administration’s successes in recovering from the Covid pandemic and “restoring decency and dignity to the White House,” the campaign said.
Biden will “make the case for Vice President Kamala Harris” and “highlight the stakes of the election for all Americans,” it added.
First Lady Jill Biden will also take to the stage on Monday, while former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are also expected to appear during the week along with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Taking the stage on Wednesday will be Harris’s vice presidential pick Walz, the folksy Minnesota governor who has made his name with attacks on the “weird” Trump and his running mate Vance.
Midway through the convention Harris and Walz will break off to campaign in Milwaukee in Wisconsin, another battleground state, before returning to Chicago — reportedly for a speech by Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff.