Vice President Kamala Harris called on an overflowing crowd in New Orleans to make sure they vote this fall because “this is probably the most significant election of our lifetime.”
In her third straight appearance at the annual Essence Festival of Culture, Harris warned of what she said were the dangers of Donald Trump becoming president again, though she never named him.
“On one side,” she said, “you have the former president who is running to become president again, who has openly talked about his admiration of dictators and his intention to be a dictator on day one, who has openly talked about his intention to reorganize the Department of Justice against his political enemies and who has talked about being proud of taking from the women of America the most fundamental decision of their own lives,” the right to an abortion.
Harris said she and President Joe Biden have lowered student debt, moved to have medical debt not count against a person’s financial score, reduced the cost of insulin to $35 a month and negotiated lower prescription drug prices.
Caroline Wanga, CEO of Essence, spoke with Harris for 25 minutes at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on Saturday afternoon, but did not mention Biden’s disastrous debate performance last week or ask Harris whether she believes he ought to continue his candidacy.
Harris has been saying in recent appearances that Biden will continue to head the Democratic ticket.
The vice president came to New Orleans facing heightened scrutiny after Biden’s debate performance prompted what are now growing calls for him to step aside.
If that happened, Harris would immediately become a frontrunner to replace him as the Democratic nominee against Trump.
Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris speaks with Essence CEO Caroline Wanga during the 30th annual Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans Saturday, July 6, 2024. (Staff photo by Matthew Perschall, The Times-Picayune)
The former president and his political allies are beginning to aim more of their fire at Harris, blaming her for the border crisis by calling her the “border czar” because Biden asked her to handle a migrant surge in 2021.
On Thursday, Trump introduced a new nickname for Harris — “Laffin’ Harris” — to demean the way she laughs.
Continuing a two-year trend, Harris is unpopular nationally, with an approval rating of 37% and a disapproval rating of 51%, according to fivethirtyeight.com.
She only narrowly trailed Trump in a hypothetical matchup in a CNN poll released on Tuesday of registered voters, her 45% to his 47%. She ran slightly better against Trump than did Biden, thanks to somewhat greater support among female voters and independents.
As she did during past appearances at Essence, Harris on Saturday sharply criticized Trump for appointing three Supreme Court justices who voted with the majority to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision and impose a federal ban on abortion.
That ruling led Louisiana and other conservative states to prohibit abortion. In Louisiana, the ban is particularly strict, with Gov. Jeff Landry and the Republican-controlled Legislature opposing attempts by Democrats to allow abortions in the case of rape and incest.
Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris walks onto stage during the 30th annual Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans Saturday, July 6, 2024. (Staff photo by Matthew Perschall, The Times-Picayune)
Donna Brazile, the former Democratic Party chair who grew up in Kenner, remains a big fan of the vice president.
“She’s led not just on reproductive rights, gun violence and economic opportunities, but she’s also taken on the climate crisis,” said Brazile. “The Biden-Harris team has a lot of bragging rights of what they’ve accomplished and what they hope to accomplish over the next four years.”
Speaking before an appreciative audience, Wanga noted that Harris is the first Black vice president. The two talked about the need for Black female empowerment, with Harris noting that Black women are “three to four times more likely to die during childbirth than other women.”
During her 24 hours in New Orleans, Harris took time to engage in local politicking, as she had done on previous trips.
She met with New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno, a longtime friend, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter of New Orleans and such other notables as Randal Gaines, who chairs the Louisiana Democratic Party, and former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial, who is president of the National Urban League.
“She was in great spirits and is eager to get back in for a second term,” Moreno said.
Friday night, just after arriving in New Orleans, Harris stopped at the Caesars Superdome to greet fans attending that evening’s concert.
“Let us always celebrate the diversity, the depth and the beauty of our culture,” she said during her brief remarks.
Harris told the crowd at the convention center that she picked up tasso and andouille sausage in New Orleans to take back to Washington, D.C.