MILWAUKEE — A few weeks ago, a basketball arena in Milwaukee was filled with fervent supporters of former President Donald Trump and emblazoned with his “Make America Great Again” slogan.
On Tuesday, it was repurposed as Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign image, with one word dotting the crowd on thousands of signs and several giant billboards at the Fiserv Forum: “Freedom.”
Harris has leaned on the word as the underlying message of his campaign, reframing Democratic priorities like abortion access, voting rights and gun violence prevention from a freedom perspective. On Tuesday, the vice president delivered a message while on a reverse tour of his convention in Chicago, stressing the importance of Wisconsin and its 10 electoral votes.
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“We are witnessing a full-scale attack across our nation on hard-fought, hard-won basic freedoms and rights across our country, such as the freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to love who you love, openly and proudly,” he said.
Harris also leaned on abortion access, arguing that his ticket advocates “a woman’s freedom to make decisions about her own body and not have her government dictate what to do.”
“You know, I don’t know what’s wrong with these people anyway. I mean, they just don’t seem to trust women,” she said. “Well, we trust women.”
Harris’ rally at the same venue where Trump accepted the GOP nomination weeks earlier at the Republican National Convention also underscored a renewal of Democratic optimism since then.
In mid-July, relieved Republicans rallied around Trump as he delivered his first campaign speeches since the former president narrowly escaped death in an assassination attempt.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party was in turmoil over whether President Joe Biden should remain in the 2024 race after a disastrous debate performance.
Republicans “came out of here riding high. They felt good. This thing was over,” Harris’ partner, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, said at the rally. “Well, trust me Milwaukee, a hell of a lot can change in four weeks.”
More than 15,000 people attended Tuesday’s rally, according to Harris’ campaign.
During Harris’ speech, he interrupted his remarks to call a doctor to a rally-goer near the stage and instructed the crowd to form a path.
“We’ll be fine,” he said when the situation seemed resolved. “This is who we are, isn’t it? This is what we’re holding onto each other.”
Rally guests began filing into the arena more than four hours before Harris was scheduled to speak. Wearing red, white and blue flashing wristbands, they danced to the music before Harris took the stage.
“This is a history-making moment, and being a woman of color, I’m excited to see how far this goes. I just want to show my support and be a part of history,” said Linda Fair, of Beloit. , Wisconsin, resident who attended the rally.
Harris’ rally coincided with the second night of the Democratic National Convention 90 miles away. Harris and Walz beamed briefly at the end of the ceremonial roll call of delegates and were expected to travel back to Chicago after their remarks, according to several campaign officials familiar with their movements.
Milwaukee was supposed to be the site of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, but Covid precautions led to most of the program being held virtually.
“By coming back to Milwaukee and coming back to Wisconsin, I think the vice president specifically shows that he hasn’t forgotten about Milwaukee. He hasn’t forgotten about Wisconsin. He hasn’t forgotten about the voters here,” Milwaukee said. Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Democrat.
The Harris campaign viewed the rally as an opportunity to connect directly with voters in a battleground state near Congress, according to a source familiar with the campaign’s thinking.
Wisconsin, a swing state, is a primary target for Harris’ campaign after Biden’s ticket turned the state blue in 2020. Democrats carried the state by about 20,000 votes in the last presidential election, a fraction of a percentage point. .
To win Wisconsin, Harris’ campaign must tell a “positive story” about her work in the Biden administration and “paint a positive vision of the future,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, many participants zeroed in on the election on how Harris compared to Trump.
“I would vote for a feeling avocado over an evil orange man,” said Madison resident Elizabeth Kanne, who attended the rally with her two children.
His 19-year-old son, Alan Kanne, was inclined to vote for Harris, although he said he wasn’t excited about either candidate.
“I think he has a relatively better character than Donald Trump,” he said. “I don’t find him particularly impressive in politics, but neither does Trump.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
