On Thursday, at a community college in Largo, Maryland, just outside Washington, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris made a unified and upbeat appearance in their first joint public event since Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate for November’s election.
While Biden unveiled a major initiative to cut Medicare drug prices for 10 key medicines, including treatments for diabetes, heart failure and blood clots, the spotlight was on Harris, who has unexpectedly united the Democratic party and surged in the polls against former President Donald Trump since her sudden entry into the race.
“She can make one hell of a president,” said Biden of Harris.
However, Harris also praised Biden, calling it an honor to serve under the “most extraordinary human being.”
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“There’s a lot of love in this room for our president,” she said as the audience chanted, “Thank you Joe!”
Biden appeared energized, drawing cheers when he declared the Democrats’ plan to “beat the hell out of” Republican opponents and elicited laughter by pretending to forget Trump’s name, calling him “Donald Dump or Donald whatever.”
However, for Biden, Thursday’s event was both a victory lap and an acknowledgment that he’s entering the lame-duck phase of his presidency.
Shortly after the event, Trump delivered rambling and angry remarks at an event at his New Jersey golf club.
Trump, reading lengthy statements from a binder and initially intending to attack Harris on inflation, with a stack of household products beside him, quickly veered into a series of media complaints and insults, calling Harris “not smart.”
The former president has struggled to shift his campaign since Biden dropped out of the race in late July due to Democratic concerns about his stamina and mental acuity for another term.
Before that, Trump was steadily rising in the polls, largely due to his claim that Biden was losing his mental capacity – a charge that gained traction after Biden’s shaky debate performance in June.
Harris has a “very strong communist lean” and will mean the “death of the American dream,” said Trump.
Trump critized Harris’ stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict, accusing her of “maneuvering” to gain support from “venomous anti-Semites in her party.”
The former president also claimed that if Harris wins, “the radical left flag burners and Hamas sympathizers will not just be causing chaos on our streets. They’ll be running U.S. foreign policy in the White House, and Israel will be gone.”
Harris is married to a Jewish man, who would make history as the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. president and the first man in the role if she wins the election.
On Friday, Harris is expected to outline her economic platform, which will likely align with Biden’s agenda but aim to differentiate herself while addressing voter concerns about inflation following the post-Covid pandemic surge.
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