Harris hits the campaign trail in North Carolina as Biden isolates for COVID

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FAYETTEVILLE, NC — Vice President Harris gave one of her most forceful speeches of the campaign on Thursday, giving what amounted to a final argument against former President Donald Trump and his running mate on the final day of the Republican National Convention while President Biden isolated at home with COVID.

Harris, nodding to her past as a prosecutor, ran through a checklist of Republican positions and contrasted them with the Biden administration’s record, fact-checking some of Trump’s economic pledges along the way.

“We are not buying it. We are not falling for the okee-doke,” she said during the visit to a community known for one of the world's largest military bases, Fort Liberty, and a sizable surrounding community of military and veteran families.

Some Democrats see Harris as heir apparent should Biden drop out

Given the open questions about whether Biden should stay at the top of the Democratic ticket, Harris’ speech — in a state that Democrats had hoped they could turn blue this fall — is likely to draw more attention than it otherwise might.

Biden and his campaign are saying that he is not going anywhere. But some Democrats have said Harris would be the obvious pick for the party if Biden were to drop out of the race.

“Our campaign is not working through any scenarios where President Biden is not the top of the ticket. He is and will be the Democratic nominee,” deputy campaign chair Quentin Fulks told reporters in Milwaukee today, slightly exasperated at the line of questioning.

The campaign is working hard to try to tie Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance to new restrictions on abortion and proposed tax cuts for the rich. Harris has become the main spokesperson for Biden's White House and campaign on reproductive rights, but often chooses to speak in moderated discussions.

At this rally, Harris turned up the energy, including during a lively call-and-response at the end of her remarks. "Are you ready to make your voice heard?" she shouted.

"Do we believe in freedom? Do we believe in opportunity? Do we believe in the promise of America? And are we ready to fight for it?"

Will there be a vice presidential debate?

Harris said Vance, who gave his first speech at the convention on Wednesday night, told "a compelling story" about his upbringing — but, she added, “it was not the full story.”

“What is very telling is what he did not talk about on that stage. He did not talk about Project 2025,” Harris said.

Yesterday, Harris committed to another potential date for a debate with Vance, though the Trump campaign has said the internal debate within the Democratic Party about Biden’s fate has put the vice presidential debate in question too.

“We can’t lock in a date before their convention. To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate,” Trump campaign adviser Brian Hughes said in a statement.

The governors of California, Illinois and Michigan are frequently cited as potential future Democratic candidates. And there has been some speculation that North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper could be a running mate if Harris were at the top of the ticket.

This reporting originally appeared as part of the NPR Network's live coverage of the RNC.