FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA — Vice President Kamala Harris blasted President Donald Trump’s selection of Sen. JD Vance as his running mate, calling Vance’s acceptance speech a distraction from their agenda and making the case against what she called their “extreme” and “divisive” policies. 

Harris has been traveling the country as the Republican Party holds its convention in Milwaukee, addressing voters in swing states as questions swirl about the future of the Democratic ticket. On Thursday, she spoke in front of a crowd in a high school gym here and responded directly to Vance’s Wednesday night speech in which he formally accepted the nomination. 

 Vance, a Marine Corps veteran, gained national attention with his bestselling 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” His speech Wednesday night anchored in on a childhood shaped by poverty and addiction, as well as his beliefs on economic policy, immigration and trade. 

“It was compelling. It’s a compelling story. But it’s not the full story,” Harris said. “Frankly, what is very telling is what he did not talk about on that stage. He did not talk about Project 2025, the 900-page blueprint for a second term. He did not talk about it because their plans are extreme, and they are divisive.” 

Vance, like most speakers at the Republican National Convention (RNC), did not explicitly mention abortion in his speech, but he has long opposed abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. On Wednesday, CNN reported on comments Vance made on a podcast in January 2022 calling for a national abortion ban. 

“He wants to direct attention away from his record and his Project 2025 plan to suggest that he and his running mate are going to prioritize the middle class,” Harris said of Trump. “But we are not buying it. As you know, I am a former prosecutor, so let’s look at the facts, shall we?”

Trump has publicly distanced himself from Project 2025, an effort led by the Heritage Foundation that includes some of his conservative allies. The plan lays out how a future Trump administration could curtail abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights and public education. Chris LaCivita, a Trump co-campaign manager and senior strategist, called Project 2025 “a pain in the ass” of the Trump campaign in remarks to the CNN-Politico Grill at the RNC. 

Harris on Thursday criticized the Republican leaders, including Trump, who telegraphed that the GOP convention would foster unity after Trump’s attempted assassination on Saturday. 

“If you’re planning to stand for unity, you need to do more than use the word,” Harris said to resounding applause. 

“You cannot stand for unity if you are pushing an agenda that deprives whole groups of Americans of basic freedoms. You cannot claim you stand for unity if you are intent on taking away reproductive freedoms from the people of America,” Harris said, referencing conservative plans that could limit access to contraception and fertility treatment.   

“You cannot claim to be for unity if you try to overturn a free and fair election,” she added, referencing Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Vance has said that if he had been vice president on January 6, 2021, he would have sought to delay the certification of the election for Biden. 

Harris’ appearance in Fayetteville, home to a significant population of service members and veterans, marks her seventh visit to the state this year and her 15th since taking office. The Biden campaign views North Carolina as a critical battleground state in 2024 and has poured significant resources into winning the state, which last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 2008. 

Harris, who was introduced by a military spouse at the rally, said one of the “greatest honors” of her role is meeting with U.S. service members around the world. 

“Our service members possess extraordinary skill, discipline, dedication and love of country,” she said. “And I know their families serve with equal dedication.”

Harris’ appearance also comes amid a new spate of headlines about efforts by some Democratic officials to persuade President Joe Biden to drop his reelection bid from the top of the ticket in the wake of his disastrous debate performance against Trump three weeks ago. 

On Wednesday, top House Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, a close ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, publicly called on Biden to step aside. Other top leaders including Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have reportedly communicated to Biden their concerns about his remaining at the top of the ticket. Later that day, Biden canceled a planned appearance in Las Vegas after testing positive for COVID-19. 

Former President Barack Obama is also telling allies he believes Biden has little to no path to win reelection, according to The Washington Post. 

The tumult and uncertainty over Biden’s future is putting even more scrutiny on Harris. Voters at the Fayetteville rally said in interviews that they still supported the ticket and would support Harris if Biden stepped aside. A poll of Black voters in battleground states conducted by SplitTicket and Data for Progress found that 68 percent would be happy if Harris became the nominee in the event of Biden’s withdrawal. 

Alda Midgette, a social worker, said she still prioritized Biden’s track record and accomplishments over “cosmetic things” like his delivery, including how he came across in the debate. She praised Harris as an adept messenger, saying she brings balance to the political arena and would have “a great chance” if she were to be the nominee. 

The Biden campaign and its surrogates view Harris, a former prosecutor, as a formidable opponent and foil to Vance. 

The Biden campaign has urged the Trump campaign to join Harris in accepting CBS News’ invitation for a vice-presidential debate. Referencing the uncertainty within the Democratic Party, Brian Hughes, a senior Trump campaign advisor, fired back, “We don’t know who the Democrat nominee for vice president is going to be, so 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.”

Both Harris and Vance served in the Senate, though they did not overlap in the chamber.

While running for Senate in 2021, Vance attacked a number of Democratic politicians, including Harris, for not having children. He derisively referred to them as “the childless left” and argued political leaders without children have no stake in the future of the country. Harris has two stepchildren with her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. 

“The VP will take it to JD Vance,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said on a Biden campaign call with reporters on Monday. “I’ve known her for 15 years, she’s been in every kind of fight on behalf of working families. And she is strong. She knows what she’s talking about and she doesn’t give an inch.” 

Harris on Thursday contrasted Biden’s and Trump’s records on issues including the economy and health care, touting the Biden administration’s legislative achievements on domestic manufacturing and reducing prescription drug costs. 

She warned that Trump would continue to “attack reproductive freedom and he will continue to undermine our democracy.”

“Ultimately in this election, we each face a question,” she said. “What kind of country do we want to live in? Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law? Or a country of chaos, fear and hate? We each have the power to answer this question.”