Kamala Harris Says Biden Is a ‘Fighter’ at North Carolina Rally

At a time when the president’s vigor is an issue, his vice president said he was battle-tough and warned about another Trump term.

Share full article

VideotranscriptBackbars0:00/1:10-0:00

transcript

Biden ‘Is a Fighter,’ Harris Says in North Carolina

At a rally in Greensboro, N.C., Vice President Kamala Harris called President Biden a fighter prepared to “get back up” from the challenges facing his campaign.

Now, we always knew this election would be tough. And the past few days have been a reminder that running for president of the United States is never easy. Nor should it be. But one thing we know about our president, Joe Biden, is that he is a fighter. He is a fighter. And he is the first to say when you get knocked down, you get back up. You get back up. So we will continue to fight and we will continue to organize. And in November, we will win. We will win. Because we know what’s at stake, and in this election there can be no doubt, no doubt who you can count on to fight for you when it counts. It’s simple. President Biden and I fight for the American people. Donald Trump does not. He fights for himself.

At a rally in Greensboro, N.C., Vice President Kamala Harris called President Biden a fighter prepared to “get back up” from the challenges facing his campaign.Credit

On a day when President Biden is holding a high-stakes news conference in which members of his own party will be measuring his vigor and strength, Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday cast Mr. Biden as a “fighter” prepared to overcome the crisis gripping his campaign, and argued that a second Trump term would make Americans less safe and reverse the Biden administration’s accomplishments.

“We always knew this election would be tough, and the past few days have been a reminder that running for president of the United States is never easy, nor should it be,” Ms. Harris said at a high school in Greensboro, N.C. “But one thing we know about our president, Joe Biden, is that he is a fighter.”

Ms. Harris followed a familiar playbook that the administration deployed in its efforts to rally Black voters: detailing economic and health care initiatives enacted by the administration that the White House says will benefit Black Americans, including policies that would drop medical debt from credit reports and forgive student loans for public servants.

“President Biden and I fight for the American people,” the vice president said. “Donald Trump does not. He fights for himself.”

And in a flourish timed to the NATO summit’s final day in Washington, Ms. Harris drew a contrast between Mr. Biden and his predecessor by underscoring their sharply divergent stances on the alliance.

Ms. Harris reminded voters that Mr. Trump had said that he would encourage the Russian government to do “whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries that had not paid the money they owed to the military alliance.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.