The event is planned for Tuesday, when Barack Obama speaks in Chicago, and the campaign hopes to hold it at the arena where Republicans held their convention, people briefed on the planning said.
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Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz are set to campaign together in Milwaukee during the Democratic convention in Chicago.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota are planning to hold a rally next Tuesday in Milwaukee, making an appearance in the key battleground state of Wisconsin as Democrats gather for their national convention in nearby Chicago, according to four people briefed on the discussions who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal the campaign’s plans.
The Harris campaign is in talks to hold its event at Fiserv Forum, the arena where former President Donald J. Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination last month, two of the people said, though an agreement on the venue has not yet been formalized.
The Harris-Walz rally in Milwaukee would be the latest visit on a tour in which the candidates spoke to crowds of over 10,000 people at five stops in battleground states last week. The campaign has jubilantly pointed to the events’ high energy and Mr. Walz has bragged about the turnout, irritating Mr. Trump to the point that he falsely claimed the Harris crowds were fake.
The planned rally on Tuesday would most likely take place before the prime-time speeches in Chicago, where former President Barack Obama is set to be the night’s featured attraction. Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee is about 80 miles from the United Center in Chicago, where Democrats will gather for their convention.
Holding a rally in the same arena where Republicans gathered last month would provide a direct contrast between the Harris-Walz ticket and Mr. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio. It would also test the Harris campaign’s ability to conduct two major events on the same day in professional basketball arenas.
This week, Ms. Harris is scheduled to appear on Thursday with President Biden at an event in Maryland, her first public appearance with him since he dropped out of the race. She is also set to deliver an economic policy address on Friday in North Carolina.
The Harris campaign declined to comment on its campaign schedule next week.
It is not unusual for presidential candidates to hold events away from the convention in the lead-up to the speeches accepting their party’s nomination. In 2012, Mr. Obama did not arrive at the Democratic convention in Charlotte, N.C., until the day before he delivered remarks. In 2016, Hillary Clinton arrived at the convention in Philadelphia the day before her speech; she was first seen onstage when she thanked Mr. Obama for his remarks vouching for her on the Wednesday before she spoke.
Mr. Trump sat in the audience at Fiserv Forum throughout all four days of the Republican convention last month.
Reid J. Epstein covers campaigns and elections from Washington. Before joining The Times in 2019, he worked at The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Newsday and The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. More about Reid J. Epstein
See more on: Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, 2024 Elections, U.S. Politics, Democratic Party
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Source: nytimes.com
