The Harris-Walz campaign is gearing up for the DNC : NPR

DAVID FOLKENFLIK, HOST:

The Democratic National Convention begins tomorrow in Chicago, and it will be a vastly different convention than the party envisioned just a few short weeks ago, with a very different nominee at the top of the ticket. NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid has been following Vice President Kamala Harris, and she joins us now. Good morning, Asma.

ASMA KHALID, BYLINE: Good morning, David.

FOLKENFLIK: So the road to Chicago apparently starts in Western Pennsylvania. What’s the plan for the Harris-Walz campaign today?

KHALID: That’s right. I would say the fact that they are spending the day in Western Pennsylvania is really just a sign of how vital Democrats see this state. It’s the day before the official convention begins, and this is where both Harris, Walz – her running mate – and both of their spouses will be. I’ll be tagging along for this as soon as we wrap. I’ve actually got to catch my route up to Pennsylvania. This is a bus tour out that’s going to be – you know, so it’s lying (ph) – flying into Pittsburgh and then be heading on.

And it’s really a more conservative part of the state, but it’s a sign of how Democrats really need to turn out voters there. Hillary Clinton lost Pennsylvania, you’ll probably recall, back in 2016. Joe Biden won it in 2020. Both of those margins were pretty slim, less than 100,000 votes. So it’s a sign of just how important this state is. The fact that Donald Trump was there campaigning yesterday, the Republican presidential nominee – and his running mate, JD Vance, will be there also on Monday.

FOLKENFLIK: Nineteen electoral votes in the balance – Monday, we’ll also see President Joe Biden speaking in Chicago in support of the freshly minted Democratic ticket. Asma, how different will the DNC be now that Harris is the nominee instead?

KHALID: It’ll be very different. I mean, look, just even going out to Harris rallies compared to Joe Biden rallies, there’s a real difference in vibe. I mean, at her rallies now, she’s bringing out well over 10,000 people, celebrities. Her events feel kind of like parties. There’s a DJ. When Biden was running, it was a much more sedate, quiet scene.

I will also say – you know, I really don’t think I can stress this enough – just how quickly the organizers of the convention itself had to practically rebuild this – you know, frankly, in about four weeks since Biden stepped out of the race. And the convention was initially going to reflect Biden, this man who had been in public life for five decades, who did have, you know, some big policy successes during his first term but was not necessarily viewed very favorably when you look at public opinion.

Now the challenge is going to be to turn the momentum Harris is seeing at her rallies into a platform for her and her running mate to introduce themselves. You know, Harris is, I would say, relatively famous but not necessarily well known. Folks don’t have a real solid opinion of her. She’s going to have this chance to introduce herself at the convention. I think there’s tremendous opportunity in that, though also some risk.

FOLKENFLIK: So let’s talk a little bit more about that. She and Walz were on that tour of swing states just two weeks ago. And Harris did give this speech Friday laying out some of her economic plan and thinking. How did that strike you?

KHALID: Yeah, it struck me that she was trying to do two things there. One is to quiet some of the criticism that folks have said they don’t necessarily know what her agenda is and what she stands for and, I think, also quiet some of the Republican criticism and offer some of a sense of what her economic vision in particular would be. And what we saw was a continuation of what the Biden White House has put out. This was an appeal to the middle class, some progressive economic ideas.

You know, in particular, she called for a $6,000 child tax credit for parents with newborn babies, a federal ban on price gouging in the grocery and food sector. She spoke broadly about trying to cut costs, you know, and everything from health care to housing, and she unveiled a new proposal there on housing. Here’s what she said.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Even if aspiring homeowners save for years, it often still is not enough. So, in addition, while we work on the housing shortage, my administration will provide first-time home buyers with $25,000…

(CHEERING)

HARRIS: …To help with the down payment on a new home.

KHALID: Now, David, it’s not clear where the money for this initiative and some of the other initiatives would come from. Republicans have been very quick to criticize Harris for this plan. Yesterday, Trump was in Pennsylvania, referring to her as a, quote, “communist and a Marxist.”

But, you know, maybe we’ll have a chance in the coming days, weeks to learn more, including this week, in terms of what Harris wants to articulate because, you know, as I was saying, this speech that she’s going to be giving on Thursday is a really large audience. She has not delivered a State of the Union. She’s not been on this type of platform, and it is a chance for her to give a second introduction to the public.

FOLKENFLIK: And…

KHALID: Huge opportunity – also some risk.

FOLKENFLIK: That’s NPR national political correspondent Asma Khalid, who’s going to hustle out to the hustings. Asma, thanks so much for talking to us this morning.

KHALID: It was great to speak with you.

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