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The big stories about money and politics in the race for the White House
Kamala Harris’ campaign said Sunday that she has raised $200 million for her White House bid in less than a week, and the vice president hopes the surge in funding will boost her chances of winning against Donald Trump.
The announcement comes as the duel between Harris and Trump in the election campaign intensifies.
US President Joe Biden abandoned his re-election bid and endorsed his vice president to succeed him just a week ago, in a move that has radically reshaped the race.
Since then Harris quickly united the Democratic Party behind her candidacy and gained some advantage over Trump in opinion polls, compared to Biden’s performance.
She is considering vice presidential candidates and is expected to announce her choice in the next two weeks.
But at a fundraiser in Massachusetts on Saturday, Harris acknowledged that Trump remains the favorite. in the electionwill be held in 100 days, in early November.
“We are the underdogs in this race, but this is a people-led campaign,” Harris told donors.
One of Harris’ key tasks will be to boost fundraising to make up for a slowdown in donations for Biden following his disastrous debate performance with Trump in late June.
Michael Tyler, communications director for Harris’ campaign, called the $200 million in the first week “a record-breaking haul.”
“Of that money, 66 percent came from first-time donors, further evidence of the overwhelming popular support for the vice president,” he said.
At a rally in Minnesota on Saturday night, two weeks after surviving an assassination attempt, Trump criticized Harris, calling her “evil” as he tried to adjust his campaign to target her instead of Biden.
“If a crazy liberal like Kamala Harris gets elected, the American dream is dead,” Trump said.
After the cyberattack, Trump called for “unity” in American politics. But on Saturday, he said the time for civility was over.
“They all say, ‘I think he’s changed. I think he’s changed since two weeks ago. Something’s happened to him,’” Trump told the crowd. “No, I haven’t changed… I’ve probably gotten worse. Because I’m angry at the incompetence that I see every day.”
On Friday, Trump was criticized for telling a group of conservative Christians that they wouldn’t have to “vote again” for four more years if they helped elect him this year.
Harris and her campaign have also been sharpening their attacks on Trump. She has sought to emphasize that he is a threat to basic American freedoms, from abortion rights to voting rights to economic security. She has also criticized Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, as eccentric and extreme.
“You may have noticed, Donald Trump has resorted to some outright lies about my record. And some of the things he and his running mate have said, well, it’s bizarre. I mean that’s the box you put it in,” she said on Saturday.
