Harris rallies voters in Milwaukee on second night of DNC

Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz greet cheering supporters at a campaign rally at the Fiserv Forum on Aug. 20, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (John Moore | Getty Images)

Thousands of Wisconsin voters packed the Fiserv Forum Tuesday night in Milwaukee — the same venue that last month hosted Donald Trump’s coronation at the Republican National Convention — to cheer for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

“Freedom” was the theme — the word undulated across an animated flag behind the stage and marched across star-spangled screens all around the arena as a DJ played pounding dance tunes and rally goers’ light-up wristbands changed color in unison, creating the atmosphere of a stadium rock concert. At the end of the rally, Beyoncé’s “Freedom” rang out — the song that has become the Harris campaign anthem.

It was the second night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and rally organizers streamed a live feed of the nominating speeches from the floor of Chicago’s United Center into the Milwaukee arena. Then the feed was cut and Walz appeared on the same Fiserv stage so recently presided over by Trump.

“It was only a month ago that the Republican Party gathered for their convention, right here on this very spot,” Walz said, rubbing it in for a cheering crowd he said numbered more than 15,000.

“After promising us a speech that was going to be about unity and promising that he was a changed man, Donald Trump subjected us to 92 minutes of ranting and raving insanity,” Walz said, adding, “We’ve got to turn the page on these guys.”

“They left here riding high. They were feeling good. This thing was over. Well, trust me, Milwaukee, a hell of a lot can change in four weeks,” Walz said.

He gloated about the “massive energy at our convention” and added that the campaign’s Tuesday’s detour to Milwaukee generated “a hell of a lot more energy” than the Republicans mustered on the same spot.

“You run a campaign based on fear, like them, you’re going to run into a little trouble when you run into a campaign that’s based on joy,” he added, as members of the crowd waved a banner that said: “Choose Joy.”

Walz emphasized the Midwestern values he said Minnesotans and Wisconsinites hold in common. “We are cousins out here. … Even if we would not make the same choice as our neighbors, we respect them because we live by that golden rule: Mind your own damn business.”

After more live feed of the nominating speeches from the Chicago convention, Harris arrived and gave a stump speech saying “it’s good to be back” in Wisconsin, after she and Walz visited just two weeks ago.

The election will be close, she said, telling her audience “we have work to do.”

She said the question facing voters in November is “What kind of country do we want to live in? … Do we want to live in a country of chaos and fear and hate, or a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law?”

During the speech, protesters behind the stage held up banners denouncing “war crimes” and “genocide” in Palestine. After what appeared to be a brief struggle between the people standing next to the “choose joy” banner and those denouncing genocide, the protesters were escorted out. A few minutes later, a woman standing just below the stage collapsed and Harris paused her speech to ask people to make a pathway for first responders.

“Let’s create a path, guys, and thanks for looking after each other,” Harris said. “OK, we’re gonna be OK,” she added, as the woman was wheeled out in a wheelchair and the crowd applauded.

“This is who we are, right?” Harris ad-libbed.”It’s about truly understanding what love thy neighbor means. It’s about, in the face of a perfect stranger, seeing a neighbor, understanding what that love of each other means — the big difference between what we’re talking about and what’s on the other side.”

Then she concluded her prepared remarks: “Are we ready to fight?” she asked, calling forth the chant from the ebullient crowd, “When we fight, we win!”

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