Kamala Harris condemned Donald Trump without using his name Sunday in a forceful stump speech in Rochester, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, as she and running mate Tim Walz barnstormed the state on a bus tour accompanied by their spouses.
“Over the last several years, there's been this kind of perversion that has taken place, I think, which is to suggest that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down when,” Harris said, flanked by her husband Doug Emhoff, Walz and his wife Gwen Walz. “What we know is the real and true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.”
“That's what strength looks like. Anybody who's about beating down other people is a coward,” she added.
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Harris, Walz, and their spouses barreled through the critical swing state throughout Sunday as they seek to shore up support ahead of this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The state is a pivotal part of both her and Donald Trump’s quest for 270 electoral votes. Trump visited the state for a rally in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday and will return for another event on Monday.
In her speech on Sunday, Harris praised Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey and Rep. Chris Deluzio and acknowledged the state’s importance. “You’ve got a lot of work Pennsylvania on your shoulders right now that you're carrying,” she told supporters.
Harris used that framing to emphasize her “fight” message, an element of her theme surrounding protecting individual freedoms.
“This campaign for us is really born out of love of country,” she said. “We love our country, and we know our country is going to be as strong as our willingness to fight for it, and to fight for what we stand for.”
