Polls show a state that gave Joe Biden one of his most dramatic wins in 2020 is now neck-and-neck.
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US Vice President Kamala Harris held a star-studded rally in the swing state of Georgia on Thursday, bringing with her former president Barack Obama to argue that another Trump presidency is more dangerous than many voters realise.
Harris hopes to win over the state's black voters, among whom polls have shown she may be losing some support — in particular with men.
The vice president implored Georgia voters to consider the “brutally serious” implications of Trump winning a second term in the White House, attacking former president Donald Trump by comparing him to the “predators, fraudsters and repeat offenders” she prosecuted early in her career.
“I took them on and I won,” Harris said. "Well, Georgia, in 12 days, it’s Donald Trump’s turn."
Harris also said that while her Republican opponent is focused on himself and his "enemies list", she is focused on the day-to-day needs of the American people.
“It’s either Donald Trump in there stewing over his enemies list, or me working for you, checking off my to-do list. You have the power to make that decision.”
Joe Biden won Georgia in the 2020 presidential election, becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the southern state since Bill Clinton in 1992.
Trump fought hard to overturn Biden's victory, including by pressuring state officials to "find" enough votes to flip it his way. The effort failed, and he is now facing a criminal indictment alleging that he and 18 co-defendants conspired to illegitimately to alter the outcome.
Harris’ campaign is hopeful she can keep the state blue in 2024, with polls showing her and Trump in a neck-and-neck contest.
"Four years of a wannabe king"
Harris also shared the stage with Barack Obama for the first time since the start of her campaign.
Obama again mocked Trump for selling Bibles and watches, suggesting he was like an older relative in need of intervention.
“Hey, have you noticed grandpa, he’s acting kind of funny out there?” Obama said.
But Obama said that even though people may no longer take Trump’s behaviour seriously, he poses a danger. He added that a second Trump term would be “four years of a wannabe king, a wannabe dictator running around trying to punish his enemies”.
“My question to you, Georgia, is how is that going to help you?” Obama asked.
Harris too emphasised that Trump is a potential danger to American democracy, a theme that she and the Democrats have been hitting harder as the former president's rhetoric turns darker and the election begins to loom.
“Someone who says we should terminate the Constitution of the United States of America should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States of America,” Harris said. “Never again.”
Harris and Obama were joined in Georgia by an ensemble of big names including Bruce Springsteen, who performed in the first of the Harris campaign’s “When We Vote We Win” concert series.