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Insights from Kamala Harris' Milwaukee rally with Cardi B and MC Lyte

Posted on by Kennedy
Insights from Kamala Harris' Milwaukee rally with Cardi B and MC Lyte

WEST ALLIS – With just four days to go, Vice President Kamala Harris brought her closing statement to Milwaukee for a raucous rally and concert featuring some of the best black female rappers and hip-hop artists.

The high-energy event drew more than 13,000 people to the Wisconsin State Fair Exposition Center on Friday evening.

After performances by MC Lyte, Flo Milli and GloRilla, rapper Cardi B wowed the crowd with an impassioned speech in which she called former President Donald Trump a “guardian” — and not the good kind.

During Harris' 23-minute speech, she drew sharp contrasts between herself and Trump and made it clear that she was ready to fight.

“Because when you know what you stand for, you know what you have to fight for,” she told the crowd to thunderous applause.

Harris said she has spent her life fighting for people who have been hurt and marginalized, but “who never stopped believing in our country – that anything is possible.”

“I lived the promise of America, and today I see the promise of America in everyone who is here, in all of you, in all of us,” she said. “We are the promise of America.”

Here are some takeaways from Harris' rally and concert, which took place the same evening Trump rallied his supporters at the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee.

Cardi B brings her trademark swagger to her political speech

Cardi B made her first appearance in Milwaukee at Harris' rally on Friday. But the hip-hop superstar gave a fiery speech in which she delivered sharp remarks with her trademark swagger.

After Cardi B took the stage in a Jackie Kennedy-style power suit, she briefly lost her breath and said she was a little nervous. But it didn't take long for her to regain her confidence.

“Are we ready to make history?” she shouted to cheers.

“I do not take lightly the call to show up, the call to speak out, the call to deliver a message that has been on my heart for a hot minute,” she said.

She also drew comparisons between herself and the vice president.

“Just like Kamala Harris, I was the underdog. I was underestimated, my success was belittled and discredited,” she said. “Women have to work ten times harder, perform ten times better, and yet people wonder how we got to the top.”

“I can’t stand a bully,” Cardi B continued. “But just like Kamala, I always fight back.”

She particularly criticized Trump's statements that he would protect women “whether they like it or not.”

“If his definition of protection is not freedom of choice, if his definition of protection is ensuring that our daughters have fewer rights than our mothers, then I don’t want that,” she said.

Women in the spotlight

Women, particularly black women, took center stage at Friday night's rally — and, in fact, all over the stage.

There was talk of Cardi B.

There were also performances from female rappers, hip-hop stars and DJs, including trailblazer MC Lyte and fresh faces GloRilla, Flo Milli and DJ Gemini Gilly.

Harris also spoke to women and those who support them during her speech.

“We are the promise of America, of the fathers, mothers and grandparents who work hard every day for the future of their children, of the women who refuse to accept a future without reproductive freedom, and of the men who support them.”

Milwaukee and Wisconsin could decide things (yes, again)

Speakers made it clear that Milwaukee and Wisconsin must vote in this election.

Several speakers urged people to vote early or have a plan for voting on Election Day. They also encouraged participants to volunteer and talk to friends, family and neighbors about voting.

“These doors don’t knock on their own,” said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson. “It’s all hands on deck here!”

Johnson told the crowd gathered at the Wisconsin State Fair Expo Center that the state's largest city would play a key role in the election.

“We are literally the crossroads of this election, we really, really are,” said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson. “And if Milwaukee comes out, we win.”

Speakers like Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin also emphasized the critical role Wisconsin will play in this election.

“We are the battleground state!” Baldwin said.

Harris calls for bipartisanship

During her speech, Harris made her trademark attacks on Republican Donald Trump, but also called for bipartisanship after the election.

“As president, I pledge to seek common ground and common-sense solutions to the challenges we face,” Harris said. “It's not about scoring political points for me. I want to make progress.”

Harris also said she is willing to listen to those who hold opposing views.

“I promise to listen to experts, to listen to people who disagree with me,” Harris said. “Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in prison, I want to give them a seat at the table.”

Harris thanked Republicans “who have never voted for a Democrat before, but have put the Constitution of the United States above party.”

Harris says Trump's comments about Liz Cheney 'must be disqualifying'

Shortly after arriving in Wisconsin on Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris criticized former President Donald Trump's comments that former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney should have guns pointed at her for her support for U.S. wars abroad.

“He has increased his violent rhetoric – Donald Trump – against political opponents and suggested in great detail that guns should be pointed at former Rep. Liz Cheney,” Harris told reporters in Madison. “That must be disqualifying.”

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