Page 2 - aruba-today-20240729

A2 UP FRONT
Monday 29 July 2024
Harris raised $200 million in first week of White House campaign and

signed up 170,000 volunteers

profile Democrats under House, but acknowledged
Continued from Front consideration to serve as she “would not have been
Harris' running mate stumped nearly this excited” if he re-
Over 170,000 volunteers for her. mained in the race.
have also signed up to help Harris campaigned in Pitts- “I finally feel hopeful now,"
the Harris campaign with field, Massachusetts, on Sat- Robbins said. She added,
phone banking, canvassing urday, drawing hundreds to "We can win this with Harris”
and other get-out-the-vote a fundraiser that had been Beshear spoke from experi-
efforts. Election Day is 100 organized when Biden was ence to supporters, telling
days away. still at the top of the Demo- them their work could be
“The momentum and energy cratic ticket. The fundraiser the difference in what's ex-
for Vice President Harris is had originally been ex- pected to be a close race.
real — and so are the fun- pected to raise $400,000 Beshear won his 2019 cam-
damentals of this race: this but ended bringing in about paign by a margin of about
election will be very close $1.4 million, according to the 5,000 votes of 1.41 million bal-
and decided by a small campaign. lots cast. He was reelected Vice President Kamala Harris, right, salutes upon arrival at
number of voters in just a Mandy Robbins, 45, of Deca- in November by a relatively Andrews Air Force Base in Md., Saturday, July 27, 2024. Harris is
few states,” Michael Tyler, tur, Georgia, drove to one of comfortable margin. returning to Washington after participating in a political event in
the campaign's communi- those organizing events Sun- “Every door knock mattered. Pittsfield, Mass.
cations director, wrote in a day in the northern suburbs Every phone call mattered. Associated Press
memo. of Atlanta to hear Kentucky Every difficult conversation today that signs up to volun- sions of the Biden administra-
Her campaign said it held Gov. Andy Beshear, a po- that people had with their teer ... you might be the dif- tion," including the chaotic
some 2,300 organizing events tential Harris running mate. uncle at Thanksgiving mat- ference in winning this race August 2021 pullout of U.S.
in battleground states this She thought Biden did a tered,” Beshear said of his for Vice President Harris.” troops led to the swift col-
weekend as several high- “great job” in the White 2019 race. “Everyone here Meanwhile, Trump, running lapse of the Afghan govern-
mate Sen. JD Vance and ment and military.
their surrogates stepped up Cotton also accused Har-
efforts to frame Harris as a ris of emboldening Iranian
far-left politician out of touch proxies Hamas and Hezbol-
with with the American main- lah by pressing Israeli Prime
stream. Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Vance said after a stop at over civilian casualties in the
a diner in Waite Park, Min- war in Gaza.
nesota, on Sunday that Har- Netanyahu met separately
ris has “got a little bit of a with Harris and Biden at the
bump from her introduction” White House on Thursday.
but predicted it would soon Afterward, Harris said she
dissipate. urged Netanyahu to reach
“Look, the people are going a cease-fire deal soon with
to learn her record,” Vance the militant group Hamas so
said. “They’re going to learn that dozens of hostages held
that she’s a radical. They’re by the militants in Gaza since
going to learn that she’s basi- Oct. 7 can return home. Har-
cally a San Francisco liberal ris said she also affirmed Is-
who wants to take San Fran- rael’s right to defend itself
cisco policies to the entire but expressed deep con-
country.” cern about the high death
Vance was echoing Trump, toll in Gaza and the “dire”
who in a campaign ap- humanitarian situation there.
pearance with Vance in Tensions in the Mideast in-
St. Cloud, Minnesota on tensified on Saturday af-
Saturday, called Harris a ter Israeli authorities said a
“crazy liberal,” accused rocket from Lebanon struck
her of wanting to “defund a soccer field in the Israeli-
the police” and said she controlled Golan Heights,
was an "absolute radical” killing 12 children and teen-
on abortion. Harris, a vocal agers. The strike raised fears
proponent of abortion rights, of a broader regional war
has made clear that she will between Israel and Hezbol-
make Republican-backed lah, which denied a role in
efforts to restrict reproduc- the attack.
tive rights a key plank in her Trump at his Saturday rally
campaign. said the Golan Heights inci-
“There is no liberal horse that dent “will go down as anoth-
she has chosen not to ride," er moment in history created
said Sen. Lindsey Graham, by a weak and ineffective
R-S.C. “ United States president and
Trump backer Sen. Tom vice president.” And Vance
Cotton, R-Ark., also tried to on Sunday accused Harris
brand Harris as a full partner of being “a disaster” on the
for “a lot of the worst deci- conflict. q