Vice President Kamala Harris used an 18-minute speech at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser at a Newport Coast estate Saturday to emphasize the importance of the November midterm elections.
“We’re at a moment in our world and county of so much of what we took for granted is now unsettled,” Harris told the approximately 15 people in attendance. “So many things we thought were long settled — territorial interfering and sovereignty. Here at home, women’s body rights and voting rights. So much at stake.”
Harris also discussed President Joe Biden’s achievements, including signing the Inflation Reduction Act and the reduction of the unemployment rate from 6.2% when he took office in 2021 to 3.5% in July, according to figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Republican National Committee has dubbed the law as the “Bidenflation Scam Bill” and cited research from the Penn Wharton Budget Model that it would have a “statistically indistinguishable from zero” impact on inflation and would actually slightly increase inflation until 2024.
The fundraiser is Harris’ only announced public appearance of her trip to Southern California.
Harris returned to Los Angeles Thursday after vacationing on the Hawaiian island of Kauai since Aug. 15. She was also at her Brentwood home Aug. 12-15.
Harris is scheduled to depart Los Angeles International Airport Sunday morning aboard Air Force 2, bound for Orlando, Florida.