Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking at a campaign event in Las Vegas on Tuesday, slammed former President Donald Trump's ties to “Project 2025,” a plan developed by a right-wing think tank to significantly expand presidential powers and reorganize the federal government.
Several former Trump administration officials were involved in the drafting of the 922-page document, which includes a 180-day presidential transition plan that would eliminate several federal agencies and replace thousands of government employees with Trump supporters, as well as a nationwide abortion ban and the rollback of numerous progressive policies.
“Trump's advisers have written a 900-page blueprint called 'Project 2025' that details everything they plan to do in his second term, including cutting Social Security, eliminating the $35 cap on insulin, abolishing the Department of Education and ending programs like Head Start,” Harris told a standing-room only audience in a Resorts World ballroom on Tuesday.
Trump I tried to keep my distance Last week he disassociated himself from a controversial Heritage Foundation project, posting on the social media site that he “knows nothing about Project 2025.”
Harris told voters: Recent U.S. Supreme Court DecisionsThe bill, which would declare the president immune from criminal prosecution for official presidential actions, could expand Trump's powers for a second term, as outlined in Project 2025. Democrats and their allies say the Supreme Court decision, which places the president above the law, is a setback for democracy. Harris echoed those concerns on Tuesday.
“Donald Trump has said publicly that if re-elected, he will be a dictator from day one,” Harris said. “Donald Trump wants to turn our democracy into a dictatorship, and the Supreme Court has effectively declared that he will be allowed to do so.”
The campaign's focus on Project 2025 comes after Biden's dismal debate performance last month drew strong criticism from Democrats. Includes a message from Congresswoman Susie Lee — They have called on Biden to drop out of the race, a criticism Harris addressed in her speech on Tuesday.
“The last few days have been a reminder that running for president of the United States is never easy, but one thing we know about President Joe Biden is that he's a fighter and he's the first to say he gets knocked down and gets back up again,” Harris said.
In her speech, Harris emphasized the importance of November's presidential election on reproductive rights issues that have been proven to sway voters. She reminded voters that Trump appointed three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped overturn abortion protections in Roe v. Wade.
“Project 2025 outlines plans to restrict access to contraception and ban abortion nationwide, with or without the convention,” Harris said.
“Trump has not denied his actions, let alone expressed remorse. Instead, he has proudly taken credit for overturning Roe. So make no mistake about it – if he had the chance, Trump would sign a nationwide ban on abortion making abortion illegal in every state,” she added.
Tuesday's event kicked off a nationwide organizing and engagement program the Biden-Harris administration hopes will mobilize Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander voters ahead of the November general election.
As part of the campaign, Nevada Biden-Harris purchased digital and print ads in the Las Vegas Chinese Daily News, the Asian Journal, the Las Vegas Japan Times, the Korean edition of the Las Vegas Times and the Philippine Times of Southern Nevada.
Harris highlighted the Biden Administration's role in increasing the number and amount of Small Business Administration loans to Asian Americans by more than one-third and achieving the highest AANHPI employment rate since 2008. Harris also highlighted the Biden Administration's efforts to reduce anti-Asian hate and violence in the United States by signing the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law and making it easier for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities to report hateful acts.
“Meanwhile, the former president has consistently incited hatred,” Harris said. “Someone who denigrates immigrants, promotes xenophobia and incites hatred should never again have the opportunity to stand in front of a microphone or raise the seal of the president of the United States.”
