Harris holds her first fundraiser as the likely Democratic nominee as donors open their wallets

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris used her first fundraiser since becoming the Democrats’ likely White House nominee to excoriate Republican nominee Donald Trump as determined to roll back American’s freedoms.

Harris traveled to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday where she was expected to raise more than $1.4 million, her campaign announced, from an expected audience of about 800 people at the Colonial Theatre. That would be $1 million-plus more than the original goal set for the event before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

She told an excited group of supporters that she entered the race as an “underdog,” while expressing confidence that her surging campaign could defeat Trump.

“I will fight to move our nation forward,” Harris said. “Donald Trump intends to take our country backwards.”

Supporters for the fundraiser at the Colonia Theater included musician James Taylor and many of the state’s Democratic heavyweights, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, former Gov. Deval Patrick and Rep. Richie Neal.

Harris took in more than $100 million in donations in the first 48 hours after Biden quit the race, a presidential record, and aides said she has continued to raise money at a steady clip.

“This is a people-powered campaign,” Harris said. “And we have momentum.”

Harris, a former prosecutor in her home state of California, also derided Trump for his legal troubles. She noted his recent conviction on 34 counts of fraud in New York, a jury finding the former president of being liable for sexual abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, and a $25 million settlement paid to attendees of the now-defunct real estate seminar called Trump University.

“I’ve been dealing with people like him my entire career,” Harris said. She added, “So in this campaign, and I say in all seriousness, I will proudly put my record against his any day.”