Kamala Harris Warns Trump Would Plunge America Back Into ‘Dark Past’ — As White House Race Rivals Come Neck-and-Neck in Astonishing Poll
July 26 2024, Published 4:26 p.m. ET
Kamala Harris warned the country a Donald Trump victory in November would “return America to a dark past” as a national poll showed the vice president was neck-and-neck with her political rival, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Harris, 58, didn't hold back as she raised alarm about Trump, 78, and emphasized the key differences between her vision and the GOP candidate's during several spirited speeches this week.
As the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee passionately advocated for stricter gun control measures at the American Federation of Teachers convention in Houston, Texas, on Thursday, she declared: “We want to ban assault weapons, and they want to ban books.”
When she touched down at Joint Base Andrews afterward, Harris took a brief moment to speak with reporters and took another jab at the former president, saying it seemed like he was “backpedaling” a "previously agreed upon" ABC debate planned when the race was between Trump and President Joe Biden.
As she challenged Trump to follow through on the arrangement, she argued: "The voters deserve to see this split screen on the debate stage. I'm ready, let's go!"
The former Apprentice boss hinted he might skip the ABC event, scheduled for September 10, after expressing his preference to hash things out on a FOX News debate stage. FOX invited the candidates to debate on September 17 after Biden dropped out of the race and Trump criticized the debate structure on ABC in a series of unhinged posts on Truth Social.
Trump told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday he would "absolutely" debate Harris, adding: "I agreed to debate with Joe Biden. But I want to debate her and she’ll be no different because they have the same policies".
On Wednesday, Harris said during a speech: "[A]s we work to build a brighter future and to move our nation forward, we must also recognize there are those who are trying to take us backward."
She added: "You may have seen their agenda. Part of it is called Project 2025", referring to the controversial initiative drafted by the staunchly conservative Heritage Foundation.
Harris called Project 2025 — which Trump has aimed to distance himself from — "a plan to return America to a dark past."
Meanwhile, polling proved Harris was gaining momentum since Biden's withdrawal, achieving significantly better numbers than her predecessor. A New York Times/Siena poll that surveyed 1,142 likely voters between July 22 and 24 showed her trailing Trump by just one percentage point, marking a significant boost compared to a June poll where Trump led Biden by six points.
Yet when third-party candidates, including Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., were factored into the equation, Harris was actually in the lead in the latest poll, with 44% of the likely vote next to Trump's 43% — and RFK was at 5%.
Harris made substantial gains among key voter groups like independents, women, young voters aged 18-29, Hispanic voters, and Black voters. As of this week, she held a 2-point lead among independents, a 14-point lead with women, a 21-point lead among young voters, a 24-point lead with Hispanic voters, and a commanding 53-point lead with Black voters.
Meanwhile, Trump remained strong among white, male, and older voters. His favorability rating also jumped nine points since June to its highest ever in a Times/Siena poll: 47%.
But 45% of those surveyed still held a "very unfavorable" view of Trump, which was a six-point increase from last month. In contrast, Harris' favorability has improved to 46%, a 10-point rise since February.
She quickly accepted the nomination after Biden endorsed his number-two in his exit announcement on Sunday. Two days later, she kicked off her campaign with a trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin – where the GOP recently gave Trump and his newly chosen VP candidate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, their official nominations.
Harris has yet to announce a running mate.