Kamala Harris will deliver counter to Trump’s convention speech

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) will deliver a speech Thursday to counter President Trump’s remarks at the Republican National Convention formally accepting the GOP presidential nomination. 

Harris, the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee, will speak in Washington, D.C., “on President Trump’s failures to contain COVID-19 and protect working families from the economic fallout” and the “Biden-Harris plan to contain COVID-19 and build a different path forward in America,” former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign said in a press release.

Trump is planning to give his speech Thursday from the White House lawn, and Harris’s remarks will serve as the Democratic Party’s main counter to his appearance. 

Biden and Harris both railed against Trump’s leadership at last week’s Democratic National Convention, a message they’re anticipated to continue heading into the fall. 

“Donald Trump’s failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods,” Harris said last week.

The Biden campaign is ramping up Harris’s activities following what was a largely well-received address last week, scheduling her for three virtual fundraisers, online discussions and publishing an op-ed discussing women’s right to vote. 

Democrats are hopeful that Harris will be able to successfully make the case against a second term for Trump while also appealing to Black women and other voters of color. Trump and the GOP have pointed to progressive stances she took during her own presidential campaign to cast Biden as beholden to his party’s left flank.