Harris mocks Trump over border security at Georgia rally as Republicans continue to raise issue

ATLANTA — Vice President Kamala Harris is facing a new barrage of Republican attack ads that attempt to define her as she launches her campaign. She hit back at immigration and border security issues Tuesday night before an angry crowd of thousands in a packed arena.

Harris shouted “Kamala” at herself and “lock him up” at former President Donald Trump and began her wave of attacks by citing her experience as attorney general of California, the largest border state in the U.S.

“In that job, I walked with law enforcement officers through underground tunnels on the U.S.-Mexico border,” Harris said. “I pursued transnational gangs, drug cartels, and human traffickers who were coming into our country illegally. I pursued them case after case and won.”

“Donald Trump, on the other hand, talks a lot about securing the border, but he doesn’t do anything. Or as my friend Quavo says, he doesn’t do anything he says,” Harris said, referencing lyrics from the Atlanta rapper who recently endorsed her.

With her comments so far, Harris has sharply refuted Republicans’ claims that she lacks the will and experience to secure the border. She failed to do so as vice president, and she will be ineffective again as president.

“This is America’s border czar, and she’s failed us. There are over 10 million of us here illegally under Harris,” the new Trump ad says of Harris. The narrator ends with the words, “Kamala Harris. Failed, weak, dangerous liberal.”

Immigration and the border have been among Trump’s strongest issues during the campaign. Harris, speaking in her second rally as a presidential candidate after succeeding President Joe Biden this month, went on the attack on immigration, criticizing Trump for his role in blocking a bipartisan bill that would have enacted strict border reforms, including a provision that would have allowed the president to close the border if crossings reach a certain point.

“Our administration has worked on the most important bill for border security,” Harris said.

“It was all set up to pass, but at the last minute Trump ordered his allies in the Senate to vote against it. He let the bipartisan deal fail because he thought it would help him win an election,” she said to applause, before concluding: “Donald Trump doesn’t care about border security. He only cares about himself.”

She also angered Trump for not following through on his promise to debate her. Trump now says he will wait until the Democratic slate is finalized after this month’s historic candidate switch.

“Well, Donald, I really hope you’ll reconsider facing me on the debate stage,” Harris said, challenging her opponent. “Because as the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.”

Harris was cheered by a crowd that drank in every word, including her condemnation of Trump and his vice presidential nominee, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, as “just weird.”

She spent little time actually urging voters to turn out in November, largely because she didn’t have to. The nearly 10,000 people who turned out in Atlanta, the largest crowd of the campaign so far, were well aware of the task ahead of them in November.

The crowd was pumped up with a series of Atlanta dance classics, from Soulja Boy’s “Crank That” to Usher’s “Yeah!”, as well as a performance by Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion, before some of Georgia’s most prominent Democrats urged them to repeat the record turnout that brought Biden to the White House and Senate in 2020. Speakers also attacked Trump, who was indicted last year on charges of allegedly plotting to overturn the 2020 election results just a few blocks away at the Fulton County Courthouse.

“The American people are the jury, we will make the right decision and send Kamala Harris to the White House,” said Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock.

State Democratic Party Chair Nikema Williams said: “Not only is he still a loser in Georgia, he’s a 34-time convicted felon. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to make him a loser again.”

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said: “Kamala Harris has proven she is prepared to prosecute Donald Trump. Who better to prosecute a convicted felon than a prosecutor?”

When Harris took the stage, the crowd was buzzing with energy.

“If you’ve never voted, make sure you go vote because this is a real election,” Quavo said.

Harris’ campaign office in Georgia wrapped up a weekend of events designed to appeal to a group of voters already excited about the woman at the top of the Democratic ticket.

Over the weekend, the campaign held more than 174 events in Georgia, recruited thousands of new volunteers and opened three new field offices in a bid to increase its chances of retaining its majority in a state Biden narrowly won in 2020.