At la fundraiser, kamala harris defends biden despite shaky debate performance

Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday gave a defense of President Joe Biden’s debate performance at a fundraiser for the Biden Victory Fund at the Brentwood home of filmmaker Rob Reiner.

Discussing what she called the “elephant in the room,” Harris acknowledged Biden’s performance wasn’t his “finest hour,” but said that if you put aside the “style points” the debate

showcased a clear contrast between the candidates. Harris also called former President Donald Trump “a threat to our democracy” who looks up to dictators and will weaponize the Department of

Justice against his political enemies. Harris emphasized that the stakes of the election are higher than ever and said “none of that changed because of a day in June,” referencing the

debate. Biden’s performance prompted a New York Times editorial headlined, “To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race.” “At Thursday’s debate, the president needed to

convince the American public that he was equal to the formidable demands of the office he is seeking to hold for another term,” the editorial said. “Voters, however, cannot be expected to

ignore what was instead plain to see: Mr. Biden is not the man he was four years ago. “The president appeared on Thursday night as the shadow of a great public servant. He struggled to

explain what he would accomplish in a second term. He struggled to respond to Mr. Trump’s provocations. He struggled to hold Mr. Trump accountable for his lies, his failures and his chilling

plans. More than once, he struggled to make it to the end of a sentence.” The fundraiser was billed as a Pride-themed garden party honoring the 11th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s

June 26, 2013, ruling against Proposition 8, the 2008 California ballot measure declaring that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California that was later

overturned by courts. Harris also used the 22-minute speech to frame the election as a fight for the principles of America, including the promise of freedom, liberty, justice and equality,

discuss her national college tour and saying that ongoing attacks on LGBTQ+ rights are closely intertwined with attacks on voting rights and reproductive rights. “What we know in any

movement about freedom and liberty is that we stand on broad shoulders of the folks who came before us and we are sitting here right now together because they passed us the baton in this

relay race of history,” she said while wrapping up her speech. “And the question is, while we are carrying the baton, what are we going to do with it?” The fundraiser was Harris’ third

campaign event in the Los Angeles area in four days.