Kamala Harris Wastes No Time in Attacking J.D. Vance

Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday laced into the newly formed Republican presidential ticket, casting former President Donald J. Trump and Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio as purveyors of “extreme” and “divisive” plans who would undermine the middle class.

Her trip to Fayetteville, N.C., was her first campaign appearance since Mr. Vance formally accepted a spot on the Republican ticket at his party’s convention a day earlier, and her speech was in some ways an initial effort to define her new opponent, who has emphasized his working-class roots.

“It’s a compelling story — and it was not the full story,” she said of his speech on Wednesday night, adding that Americans were “not buying” claims from Mr. Trump that “he and his running mate are going to prioritize the middle class.”

Her remarks came as her own running mate, President Biden, faces intense pressure from top party leaders to step aside, putting Ms. Harris in a white-hot new spotlight as she described the stakes of the 2024 contest — “the most existential, consequential and important election of our lifetime,” she said.

She appeared with Gov. Roy Cooper, the Democratic governor of North Carolina, with whom Ms. Harris has a warm relationship. He has been mentioned as a potential running mate for her if Mr. Biden were to step aside.

In a well-received speech before an enthusiastic crowd, Ms. Harris argued that a Trump-Vance administration would threaten reproductive rights and federal entitlement programs, and jeopardize significant accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration on issues like health care and education.