Harris warns about Vance, stakes of the election during North Carolina speech

Vice President Harris warned about Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), former President Trump’s running mate, while campaigning Thursday in the critical state of North Carolina.

“[We are] 110 days out from the election, and while many of us have been involved in these elections for every four years, practically, nearly every time we will say, ‘This is the one.’ Well, this here is the one,” she said in Fayetteville. “The most existential, consequential and important election of our lifetime.”

Vance the night before gave a boisterous speech to officially accept the nomination to be the running mate on the GOP ticket, during which he spoke about his upbringing in rural Ohio.

“It’s a compelling story,” Harris said. “And, it was not the full story.”

“Frankly, what is very telling is what he did not talk about on that stage. He did not talk about Project 2025, their 900-page blueprint for a second Trump term. He did not talk about it because their plans are extreme and they are divisive,” she added.

Harris is hitting the campaign trail in the critical state of North Carolina — which Trump won in 2020 and the Biden campaign is hoping to flip in November — while the president is isolating with COVID-19 and fighting for his political future, facing ongoing calls for him to end his reelection bid and allow someone else to be the Democratic presidential candidate.

Harris has been in the spotlight in recent weeks, with the growing calls for Biden to drop his bid. She has been staunchly supportive of Biden, and the Biden-Harris campaign has attempted to shut down speculation over if pressure is building this week for the president to drop out.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), who is a bright spot for Democrats in the Southern state, is seen as a top potential running mate for Harris if Biden were to step aside. Cooper introduced Harris on Thursday, expressing his support for the Biden-Harris ticket.

“I know that she and Joe Biden need four more years to finish the job,” Cooper said.

Harris in her remarks hit the whole GOP for appearing to be unified during the convention in Milwaukee.

“Here’s the thing, if you claim to stand for unity, you need to do more than just use the word,” the vice president said. “You cannot claim you stand for unity if you are pushing an agenda that deprives whole groups of Americans of basic freedoms, opportunity and dignity.”

“With the selection of his running mate this week, Donald Trump is trying to distract people. He wants to direct attention away from his record and his Project 2025 plan to suggest that he and his running mate are going to prioritize the middle class,” she added. “We are not falling for it.”

Democrats have hit Trump over Project 2025, the conservative Heritage Foundation’s plan for the next GOP presidency, which he has attempted to distance himself from.

“If Donald Trump were to win in November, he will continue to sell out working families, he will continue to attack reproductive freedom, and he will continue to undermine our democracy,” Harris said.

Meanwhile, Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday while campaigning in Las Vegas, offering grim counterprogramming to the ongoing Republican National Convention. Trump is set to give his highly-anticipated speech Thursday evening, which is his first speech since the assassination attempt on him over the weekend.