Vice President Harris stops in Greenville include church, Minges Coliseum on ECU campus

Sunday, October 13, 2024
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- With the presidential election now less than 30 days away, Battleground North Carolina is a state candidates see as critical. Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned on the campus of East Carolina University Sunday and laid out her New Way Forward agenda. Her supporters are hoping to see her make history again.

"She could be the first female president. I'm so excited," said Cary resident Lois Misiewicz. "We've got to do everything we can to get her elected."

The New York native has only seen North Carolina go blue once since moving there in 2006. Misiewicz supported former President Barack Obama then and this year she is supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.

"I feel more excited this time. Maybe because she's a woman," she said.

Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage inside the Minges Coliseum on the campus of ECU as hundreds of supporters listened intently to her message. She spoke of bringing down the cost of living, investing in small businesses and other things.



"We are focused on protecting reproductive freedom. We are focused on keeping our nation secure," she said.

Her vision aligns with women like Diane Taylor, who is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, which is the same sorority Harris is a member of. Many issues on the ballot concern her.

"I think about my daughter possibly having to ask for permission to do certain things for her body. I think about my son who is a Black male. I think about safety issues affecting them," said Taylor.

Harris delivered remarks at a Christian church in Greenville Sunday morning on Hurricane Helene victims. It's an issue she spoke briefly to at the rally.

"We will be with you every step of the way as you recover," said Harris. She expressed her support for storm victims. It's something that was top of mind for some voters.



"I have friends out there I deeply care about. They are getting displaced. They are having issues," said Javiar Limon, a graduate student at UNC Chapel Hill. "

We see the devastation its causing this community so we need to tackle climate change in full force."

As this marks the final homestretch until the 2024 presidential election, we can expect to see both presidential candidates rallying support in Tar Heel state.

"North Carolina, are we ready to make your voices heard," questioned Harris. "Do we believe in freedom? Do we believe in opportunity? Do we believe in the promise of America?"

VP Harris' running mate Gov. Tim Walz will be in North Carolina on Thursday. The first day of early voting across the state.

WATCH | VP Harris Full Speech in Greenville
VP Harris rallies voters in Greenville during event on ECU campus: Full Speech


The Greenville rally capped a 2-day visit for the Democratic Presidential nominee.



On Saturday, she arrived in Raleigh just before 6:00 p.m. VP Harris helped pack diapers into boxes of personal care products destined for North Carolina hurricane victims, agreeing with one helper who said "It takes a village."

"You're exactly right," Harris said as she put two packages of diapers in each cardboard box that was placed in front of her assembly-line style. Harris met with Black leaders at The Pit Authentic Barbecue restaurant in Raleigh before she joined volunteers who were there to pack bandages, baby formula, baby wipes, pain relief pills and other items for victims of Hurricane Helene, which tore through western North Carolina last month.


VP Harris stops at The Pit in Raleigh, helps assemble care packages for WNC: Raw Video


Ahead of the rally at ECU, VP Harris made an appearance at Koinonia Christian Center as part of her 'Souls to Polls' effort in battleground North Carolina. While speaking from the pulpit she called out Donald Trump for spreading misinformation about the government's hurricane response.



According to the Associated Press, Harris did not say Trump's name, but he is most prominent among those promoting false claims about the Biden administration's response to Hurricanes Milton and Helene. Florida was in the path of both storms, with Helene also hitting North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, while Milton headed for the open Atlantic.

The vice president also amplified the "heroes" all around who are helping residents after the hurricanes without regard to political affiliation.

"Yet, church, there are some who are not acting in the spirit of community, and I am speaking of these who have been literally not telling the truth, lying about people who are working hard to help the folks in need, spreading disinformation when the truth and facts are required," Harris said.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a church service at Koinonia Christian Center in Greenville, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)



The North Carolina appearances mark the start of a week that will find Harris working to shore up support among Black voters, a key constituency for the Democratic Party. She is counting on Black turnout in competitive states such as North Carolina to help her defeat Trump, who has focused on energizing men of all races and has tried to make inroads with Black men in particular.

ABC News has learned that Biden checked in with NC Governor Roy Cooper for a Helene recovery update in western North Carolina.

Biden on Sunday was surveying hurricane damage on a helicopter flight between Tampa and St. Pete Beach on the Gulf Coast. From the air, he saw the torn-up roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team. On the ground, the president saw waterlogged household furnishings piled up outside flooded homes. Some houses had collapsed.

Saturday, VP Harris' doctor released a summary of her medical history. Vice President Kamala Harris is in "excellent health" and "possesses the physical and mental resiliency" required to serve as president, her doctor said in a letter released Saturday that summarizes her medical history and status.

Dr. Joshua Simmons, a U.S. Army colonel and physician to the vice president, wrote that Harris, 59, maintains a healthy, active lifestyle and that her most recent physical last April was "unremarkable." She "possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief," he wrote in a two-page letter.

WATCH | VP Kamala Harris visits NC to survey storm damage
VP Kamala Harris visits NC to survey storm damage


Harris made stops in the western part of the state last weekend to survey damage from Helene.

The visit was a day after Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump said the federal response to the disaster has been "lousy."

There's a little over three weeks until Election Day, Nov. 5.

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