Ms. Harris’ appearance also marked a return to normal campaigning. The Biden campaign resumed airing television ads on Wednesday after a brief hiatus, and Ms. Harris was clearly in campaign mode at Westover High School on Thursday afternoon. The crowd, which campaign officials estimated at 500, cheered as she criticized Mr. Trump’s newly announced running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
“If you claim to support unity, it’s not enough to just say it,” she said. “You can’t say you support unity if you’re promoting policies that strip Americans of their freedom, opportunity and dignity. … You can’t say you support unity if you’re trying to overturn a free and fair election.”
The crowd in this heavily military city near Fort Liberty, the U.S. military base formerly known as Fort Bragg, cheered when Harris thanked military personnel and their families, then reacted almost unanimously to everything she said, grumbling agreement with every attack on Trump-Vance and responding with robust cheers to every pro-Biden-Harris comment.
Rally attendees interviewed by The Washington Post said they wanted Biden to remain the top Democratic candidate, but added that they were ready, even eager, to vote for Harris.
“I know the polls aren’t great, but I’m 69 years old and I’ve never seen anyone accomplish this much in their lifetime,” said Jesse Goslen, executive director of the Franklin County Democratic Party. “If he goes out, it’s a big loss in some ways, but at the same time, we have to beat Trump.”
“But if Harris does step down, it has to be her. If it was anyone else, it would really look bad. If it was her, Roy Cooper would be a great vice president,” Goslen added, referring to the North Carolina governor who introduced Harris at the rally.
Some also fear that dropping out of the race would show weakness and hand the election over to Trump, who enjoys fervent support from many of his base in the wake of what is being investigated as an assassination attempt.
“She’s been prepared to be the presidential candidate from day one,” said Marvin Keller, 66, who said that while he’s nervous about who will represent the party in November, Harris’ performance has convinced him she would be a strong contender if called upon.
Veronica Jones, a county commissioner in North Carolina, said age is a big issue in the 2024 election.
“She’s definitely stuck to that and made it clear that she’s available to step in at any time if (Biden) gets sick or something happens,” Jones said. “If something were to happen to him, she’d be a great president.”
Harris, a former California senator and attorney general, made multiple visits to battleground states this week, campaigning in Pennsylvania and Michigan where she doubled down on her own background and identity to portray the Biden-Harris ticket as a strong contender in the struggling Democratic presidential nominee.
The tour convinced some voters that she could be a strong candidate in her own right, but she has always been careful to talk up the president’s policy accomplishments and praise his record.
“We know which side President Joe Biden is on. He grew up in a working-class family in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and he has never forgotten where he came from,” she said Thursday, contrasting him with Vance. She said Vance’s speech about his background was “compelling” but not “the whole story.”
With the Democratic Party divided and Biden’s competence in the spotlight, the campaigns are desperately trying to shift the debate back to the differences between the two candidates’ values and policies, particularly around reproductive rights, which Harris has made a major focus of her events this week.
“North Carolina, I think it’s clear: if Donald Trump wins in November, he will continue to betray working families. He will continue to attack reproductive freedom and he will continue to undermine our democracy,” Harris concluded her speech.
Her crowd of fans, some of them new, cheered as she asked the crowd to choose between living in a country of freedom, compassion and the rule of law, or one of chaos, fear and hatred.
Democrats in the audience seemed thrilled with Harris’ performance, but with the administration under intense pressure to answer questions about Biden’s health, Harris chose not to speak to any of the reporters accompanying her to North Carolina on Thursday, a departure from her usual practice.
