GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – SEPTEMBER 12: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running for president as a Democrat, talks at a campaign rally at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Harris held two rallies today in North Carolina. This was right after her debate with former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump last night.
North Carolina is a battleground state, and Vice President Kamala Harris made two stops there. Thousands of cheering fans came to rallies in Charlotte and Greensboro, which were her first campaign events after a debate that most people think she won.
She used stories from the presidential debate on Tuesday to spice up her speech at the Greensboro Coliseum on Thursday night.
People laughed when she asked them to remember when President Trump said at the debate that he has “concepts of a plan” for health insurance. She was talking about keeping the Affordable Care Act.
She said, “That means no plan.”
The cheers of the 20,000 people who were packed into the coliseum were often so loud that they drowned out the sound system.
She brought up a series of debate answers where Trump refused to say he would veto a national abortion ban. If Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, I will do the following as president of the United States: Harris has said in the past that she is happy to sign that bill into law. On Thursday, the cheering from the crowd made it hard to hear the line in some parts of the building.
Thursday, both Trump and Harris ran for office in close states. Trump was in Tucson, Arizona.
Around the same time that Harris was in North Carolina calling for another debate, Trump was in Tucson saying he wouldn’t hold one.
Trump told people in Arizona, “There will not be a third debate because we have already had two successful ones.”
Back in June, Trump and Vice President Joe Biden had a discussion. Three weeks after his shaky showing in the debate, Biden dropped out of the race and backed Harris.
Polls don’t agree with Trump that he won the discussion with Harris.
538 looked at three national polls and found that Harris was ahead in the debate by an average of 57% to 34%. One of the three was a study paid for by Republicans.
Trump said in Tucson that the reason he looked angry during the debate was because he is mad about people coming into the country illegally.
Thursday, the North Carolina Republican Party put out a statement saying that Harris was to blame for people crossing the line illegally.
Democrats running for president have been focusing on North Carolina for years, but the state has been just out of reach in each of the last three elections.
President Barack Obama was the last Democrat to win the state, in 2008. Trump won North Carolina in 2020 with just over 75,000 votes, out of a total of more than 5.5 million cast.
Thursday, people at the rally felt like the Democrats were changing their minds.
Tonya McDaniel of Forsyth County said Harris can win over voters who aren’t involved with any party.
“I believe they will understand that she has a plan and not just an idea,” McDaniel said.
Brian Carter drove from Wake Forest to Greensboro to check out Harris before getting too excited.
He said, “It feels real.” “It’s really cool.”
He thinks that Harris’s crowd’s excitement and energy will help him win in November.
Campaigns are fighting hard for every vote because the race looks so close.
Gov. Roy Cooper presents Harris at her events in North Carolina. When he talked to the crowd on Thursday, he sounded like a boss getting his team ready for a big game.
“Are you going to knock on doors?” Are we going to call anyone? Are we going to talk to our friends and neighbors?”
Every question was met with a loud “yes” from the crowd.
Before leaving the stage, Cooper said, “Let’s go get ’em guys.”