Kamala Harris to visit Michigan as the administration works to garner voter support in battleground states
(CBS DETROIT) - Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to visit Michigan Wednesday, marking the first Biden-Harris campaign event since the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. This marks Harris' fourth trip to the state this year and her seventh since becoming vice president.
Harris will visit Kalamazoo on Wednesday to share remarks and participate in a moderated conversation with Olivia Troye, a former Trump-Pence administration national security official, and Amanda Stratton, a former Republican voter with a reproductive health story. She is set to arrive in Kalamazoo Wednesday afternoon.
The vice president will also visit North Carolina this week. Both Michigan and North Carolina are considered important battleground states to clinch for the election.
After her visit, Trump and his newly selected running mate, JD Vance, will visit Michigan on Saturday, in their first campaign stop together and Trump's first since the assassination attempt at his Pennsylvania rally. A bullet grazed Trump's ear, and his son, Eric Trump, says that his father doesn't have stitches, just a "nice flesh wound."
This rally will be held at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids and will be open to the public.
Al Shenouda, the managing partner at City Shield Security Services in Detroit, said security at the rally will be tight to protect the candidates and the public following the assassination attempt and avoid any potential copycats.
"The echo effect is another type of adversary who wants to commit the attack, not just because they're envious or they want their 15 minutes; they want to continue to project the initial violence, especially the psychological impact associated with the violence. So very similar to an echo chamber, they want that echo effect to continue to resonate, so they can terrorize the mass public some more," Shenouda said.
Shenouda was also the AmeriShield Protection Group and former anti-terrorism director for the Department of Homeland Security.
This visit will mark the former president's fifth visit to the state this year. The last time he was in Michigan was in June, and he hosted a roundtable discussion at Detroit's 180 Church and spoke at the People's Convention held by Turning Point Action at Huntington Place.
President Joe Biden was in Michigan last week, following a debate performance that's led to calls from Democratic lawmakers for him to exit the race.
During the campaign event, Mr. Biden was defiant that he would stay in the race and said he is "not done yet."
