Kamala Harris launched a withering attack on Donald Trump’s leadership hours before he will accept his party’s re-nomination on Thursday, accusing the president of demonstrating a “reckless disregard” for the American people in his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking from an auditorium at George Washington University, Harris, a California senator who last week became the first woman of color to accept the vice-presidential nomination of a major party, unfurled a wide-ranging offensive against Trump to address what she said was “a reality completely absent from this week’s Republican national convention”.
“The Republican convention is designed for one purpose: to soothe Donald Trump’s ego, to make him feel good,” Harris said. “But here’s the thing: he’s the president of the United States, and it’s not supposed to be about him. It’s supposed to be about the health and the safety and the wellbeing of the American people.”
“On that measure,” she continued, “Donald Trump has failed.”
Harris , a former prosecutor, methodically detailed Trump’s response to the pandemic from his early praise of the Chinese government to his focus on the stock market.
“He got it wrong from the beginning and then he got it wrong again and again and the consequences have been catastrophic,” she said.
During their four-day convention, Republicans have made few references to the pandemic, even as the death toll rises to 180,000. Instead, they sought to portray the president as a superhero figure, whose strong leadership will “make America great again, again” as Vice-President Mike Pence vowed.
Harris, who marched alongside Black Lives Matter protesters earlier this year, also opened her remarks on Thursday by addressing the shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, by a white officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in an incident captured on camera. Attorneys say Blake is paralyzed and fighting for his life.
“The shots fired at Mr Blake pierced the soul of our nation,” she said. “It’s sickening to watch. It’s all too familiar. And it must end.”
Harris invoked Blake’s name, repeating the circumstances of his shooting for emphasis – “shot seven times, in the back”. She also spoke the names of other Black Americans killed this summer, including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.
While condemning violence that has transpired in Kenosha, Harris said Black Americans were “rightfully angry” and praised the Blake family, who she spoke with on Wednesday, for appealing for peace even as they seek justice.
“It’s no wonder people are taking to the streets, and I support them,” she said, adding: “Make no mistake we will not let these vigilantes and extremists derail the path to justice.”
The Wisconsin governor, Tony Evers, increased the number of national guard troops in Kenosha after a white 17-year-old was charged on Wednesday with killing two protesters and injuring a third.
Identifying the mounting crises – from the raging wildfires in California and the hurricane ripping across Louisiana, to the spate of police killings of Black Americans and a rising death toll from the coronavirus – Harris closed her speech by asking Americans to judge Trump on his performance.
“We all know, he’s not changing. The president he has been is the president he will be,” she said. “But we have a chance to right these wrongs, and put America on a better path.”
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
