Vice President Kamala Harris typically spends the Fourth of July weekend with her husband, Doug Emhoff, at their Los Angeles home, grilling hot dogs for their Secret Service agents. But as concerns about President Biden’s age and mental acuity simmered in recent days, Ms. Harris has been on the road, tirelessly defending his record in interviews and before crowds of supporters.
On Saturday, during an appearance at the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans, neither Ms. Harris nor her interviewer, Caroline A. Wanga, the CEO of Essence, mentioned Mr. Biden’s floundering campaign for re-election or the high-stakes interview he gave to ABC News on Friday.
Instead, in a roughly 30-minute onstage conversation, Ms. Harris discussed her biography, took a sharp dig at former President Donald J. Trump and touted the Biden administration’s achievements on issues such as black maternal health, student debt and housing.
“Understand what we all know,” she said. “In 122 days, we all have the power to decide what kind of country we want.”
She warned about Trump’s open praise for dictators, his promises of retaliation against his political enemies and the new level of immunity the Supreme Court had granted him.
These are pivotal moments for Ms. Harris. The intense scrutiny Mr. Biden has faced as pressure mounts for him to step aside is beginning to work its way into his most likely successor. She made an early and surprise appearance at the Essence festival on Friday night, walking into Beyoncé’s “Freedom” after being introduced by the comedian Punkie Johnson.
“Let us always celebrate the diversity, depth and beauty of our culture,” Ms. Harris said to loud cheers.
Leaders of several progressive and women’s advocacy groups said on Friday they were working to raise Ms. Harris’s profile and highlight her accomplishments, regardless of whether Mr. Biden decides to step aside.
Polls show the vice president remains largely undecided in the public eye, though she and the issues in her portfolio — such as reproductive rights and gun violence — are widely popular among the groups Biden wants to support, including women, young people and voters of color.
Mr. Trump and his Republican allies have also stepped up their criticism of Ms. Harris. On his social media site, Truth Social, Mr. Trump described her as his “potential new Democratic challenger” and called her “Laffin’ Kamala Harris,” an apparent reference to her laugh.
Leaders of UltraViolet, Emily’s List and other women’s groups issued a joint statement condemning Mr Trump’s attacks on Ms Harris, saying he could not tolerate a black woman who was smarter, tougher and more respected than he was “getting the credit she deserves for her leadership.”
Ms. Harris’ appearance in New Orleans was part of her efforts to energize black voters, a constituency vital to Democrats’ success in November. Before her onstage interview, Ms. Harris took pictures with members of the Congressional Black Caucus at a booth set up by national Democratic groups to register voters and raise awareness of the Biden administration’s accomplishments.
Despite their strong praise for Ms. Harris, some attendees said they hoped the party would stick with Mr. Biden as its presidential nominee.
“I think he still has the heart to lead this country,” Jeanetta Hawkins, 62, a small business owner in St. Louis, said of Biden.
Tiffany Altman, 36, brought a copy of Ms. Harris’s book, “The Truths We Hold,” in the hope of getting it signed. It was “painful” to watch Mr. Biden at the presidential debate, she said. But she was devastated when Hillary Clinton lost to Mr. Trump in 2016, and she doubted that the United States was ready for a black woman in the White House.
The sentiment was general, although recent studies have shown that female and non-white candidates are winning elections at a rate that equal to or greater than that of their white male counterparts.
