Jill Biden defended Kamala Harris against “lies” about her during the Arizona swing campaign, as a new poll shows Donald Trump's command in the critical battleground state.
Trump leads the state 51% to 46% Harris New York Times Poll found /Sienna.
Arizona is one of the most contentious battlegrounds of 2024 selection. Both the Harris and Trump campaigns are spending significant resources here.
That's where Jill Biden made her first-ever campaign stop for Kamala Harris, promoting her candidacy during two days of events.
The first lady used her time on the campaign trail to sharply criticize Donald Trump for supporting abortion bans and tax breaks for corporations, labeling the former president as greedy and selfish.
Jill Biden made her first campaign stop for Kamala Harris, rallying voters in Arizona
She also took on “lies” about Harris, who has been the subject of Trump's conspiracy theories and false claims.
“You've probably heard all sorts of lies about Kamala,” she said Friday night at an event in Yuma. She then described Harris' work as California attorney general, senator and vice president.
Trump falsely accused Harris of lying about working at McDonald's when she was a teenager and misrepresented the role she played in the Biden administration's border security work.
Jill Biden painted a more compassionate picture of the Democratic presidential nominee, talking about her crime-fighting work as attorney general and how she helped a high school friend who had experienced violence.
“This is the Kamala Harris I know – a fast, tough, compassionate and decisive leader. This is the president you deserve, Arizona,” she said.
Biden has repeatedly attacked Trump for his role in appointing Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe vs. Wade.
“Donald Trump's abortion ban took away women's ability to make their own health care decisions,” she said.
“No one has to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government should not tell women what to do with their bodies,” she said to thunderous applause.
Reproductive rights proved to be a winning issue for Democrats, who used it to rally their base to the ballot box in the 2022 midterm elections.
Much of the first lady's five-day campaign in five states will focus on a voter rally on the issue.
She also repeated some lines about Trump that she used while campaigning for President Biden, turning them into a job for Harris.
“As president, Kamala Harris will fight for you. “Donald Trump still wakes up every day thinking about one person: himself,” she said.
“Another Donald Trump presidency would lead to more chaos, more greed and more division. He still wants to lower taxes for rich guys like him while costs rise for everyone else.
A New York Times/Siena poll shows Donald Trump leading Kamala Harris by six points in Arizona, a closely contested state in the 2024 presidential election.
In addition to the first lady, the Harris campaign sent its running mate Tim Walz and second gentleman Doug Emhoff to Arizona. Harris will be able to as well.
Early voting began in Arizona, and the first lady recalled that in the 2020 contest, President Biden won the state by only 10,457 votes.
On Saturday morning in Phoenix, she spoke to a group of teachers who were taking to the streets to canvass for votes and reminded them that every vote counts.
“You know, the first time I voted, I almost didn't vote for my future husband. That's true. Can you imagine if I didn't do that? I mean, thank God I did it,” she said.
She noticed she was a student at the University of Delaware at the time, and Joe Biden was running for senator.
“Actually, Joe won this election by just 3,000 votes, so it could easily have gone the other way,” she said.
This is Jill Biden's fourth appearance in Arizona this year, but her first for Kamala Harris.
It has been about 10 weeks since President Biden withdrew from the 2024 campaign.
At that time, the first lady felt the sting of “betrayal.” Democrats who privately offered support to her husband – and then publicly called for him to withdraw from the presidential race, those close to her told DailyMail.com.
Jill Biden was at Joe Biden's side in Wilmington, Delawareon that fateful day, he made up his mind and even called Harris to pledge her support for the vice president.
“We love you,” she told Harris, according to a source familiar with the conversation. She also called Harris' husband Doug Emhoff to see who she is close to.
Now she's bringing her support to the public with a high-profile campaign for Harris.
In addition to stops west in Arizona and Nevada, it will target blue wall states. Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania – three states the party considers essential to Harris' victory.
This is Jill Biden's first return to the campaign trail since husband Joe Biden withdrew from the race in July and emerged following reports of early tensions between the first lady and Vice President Harris.
Before President Biden left office, Jill Biden was a popular Democratic surrogate for both her husband and other party members. In the 2022 midterm elections, more congressional and Senate candidates wanted her at their rallies than the president.
Jill Biden was an enthusiastic advocate for her husband and regularly came out to praise his achievements to voters. She led the Women for Biden-Harris campaign, which took her to battleground states where she praised the president and criticized Trump.
The first lady, who supported the president when he urged party leaders to stay in the contest, disappeared from the campaign spotlight after he stepped down.
She did speak at the Democratic National Convention and formally endorsed Harris, but otherwise as first lady she focused on joining forces, women's health and other initiatives.
President Joe Biden kisses wife Jill Biden after delivering a speech at the Democratic National Convention in August
Early in the administration, Jill Biden was reported to be angry with Kamala Harris over an incident that occurred during the 2020 primaries.
Early in Biden's term, there were reports of bitter feelings between Jill Biden – who is known to hold a grudge – and Harris.
Biden was upset with Harris for an attack line during one of the first primary debates about targeting Joe Biden for his school busing records in the 1960s as part of desegregation efforts.
But it appears that these feelings – along with a lingering sense of resentment over the treatment of her husband by party leaders – have been put aside for the greater goal of winning the election.
The first lady kicked off her campaign with two stops in Arizona, campaigning in Yuma and Phoenix.
On Sunday he will be in Carson City and Reno, Nevada, and will spend Monday in the suburbs of Detroit and Madison, Wisconsin.
Her trip will end on Tuesday with a stop in her hometown of Philadelphia.
