Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off her presidential campaign on Monday with what some members of the media hailed as a speech that left them with “chills,” “blown away” and arguing over who jumped out of their seat higher.
Harris became the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate on Sunday after President Biden announced via X that he would be dropping out of the race and endorsing her. On Monday, she gave her first campaign speech at what will now be her election headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.
Harris spoke about her relationship with Biden, who called into the headquarters and publicly spoke, and focused on attacking former President Trump.
“In those [past] roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump’s type,” she said.
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The speech, after weeks of internal fighting dividing the Democratic Party, was hailed by left-leaning media pundits as the perfect reintroduction of Harris to the country.
“There was a twinkle in her eye. There was a kick in her step that, you know, when you’re vice president…you’re not loose. There’s somebody above you, somebody you don’t want to overshadow them. And this was quite the coming out. I got chills when she said, ‘Donald Trump: I know your type.’ That was like, ‘Wow, she’s going to prosecute this case,’” MSNBC pundit Donny Deutsch said.
He continued, “And I was blown away. I was, like, I kind of fell in love with her. I thought she was smart, engaging. She’s funny, feisty, twinkle in your eye, punch you in the gut. I mean, everything you kind of want. And I just thought it was a great, great opening act.”
“Bear with me, I’m jumping out of my seat over here watching this. People have been thirsting for this,” “The Bulwark” podcast host Tim Miller exclaimed.
MSNBC guest Maya Wiley agreed, “I’m with Tim – Tim, I’m jumping out of my seat higher than you, my brother. I’m just going to say that.”
Wiley added she was “tearing up” during a portion of Harris’ speech when she discussed her relationship with Biden.
“These aren’t people who just show up for the public to put on a show. This is what you see behind closed doors. This is not just graciousness for political expediency. This is graciousness because grace is something that matters deeply to these two leaders,” Wiley said.
Over on CNN, more pundits celebrated the speech as a direct attack and threat against Trump.
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“What struck me most was that is fighting Kamala Harris. She is coming out, guns blazing,” CNN correspondent Jamie Gangel remarked.
“If I were sitting in the Trump headquarters and I watched that speech, I‘d be very, very concerned. Kamala Harris gave what was, I thought, a perfectly conceived and well-delivered kind of introduction to the country, introduction, reintroduction of herself, not as a vice president, but as a standard-bearer,” former Obama adviser David Axelrod said.
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He continued, “She looked completely comfortable tonight with the words she was speaking. They felt organic and genuine. I think every Democrat should be heartened by that speech. I think that if I‘m the Trump campaign, I think the message was very clear. The game is on here, and it‘s not going to be easy.”
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