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Politics Aug 29, 2022
Vice President Kamala Harris. | Photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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Vice President Kamala Harris departed from Los Angeles International Airport Sunday aboard Air Force 2 for a flight to Orlando, Florida, ending a four-day trip to Southern California that included speaking at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser.
Harris used the 18-minute speech at a Newport Coast estate Saturday to emphasize the importance of November’s midterm elections.
“We’re at a moment in our world and country 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 White House claims it will lower costs for families, combat the climate crisis and reduce the deficit, which will help fight inflation.
Hallie Balch, the Republican National Committee’s California director of communications, criticized Harris for going to “Newport Beach raising money with Democrat elites while Californians are struggling under record inflation and continued spiking crime.”
“She talks about the importance of elections, and she’s right, but it’s because this administration has had a losing track record and this November, voters will recognize the failure of the Democrat Party,” Balch told City News Service.
The fundraiser was Harris’ only public appearance during her trip to Southern California.
Harris returned to Los Angeles on Thursday after vacationing on the Hawaiian island of Kauai since Aug. 15. She was also at her Brentwood home Aug. 12-15.
Harris flew to Orlando to attend Monday’s planned launch of Artemis I at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The uncrewed mission is the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems that is scheduled to provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate a commitment and capability to return humans to the Moon and extend beyond.
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