The News

The Latest: Harris says the powerful seek to divide America

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California and her bid for president (all times local):

2:15 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is telling supporters that those in power are trying to turn people against each other, which she says is “not our America.”

The senator from California is speaking at a rally in her hometown of Oakland, the formal kickoff of her campaign for the nomination. She announced her candidacy last Monday.

Speaking at Oakland’s City Hall, Harris says the American Dream and American democracy are under attack and on the line like never before. She says that racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and transphobia are real in the U.S. and must be recognized and dealt with.

Harris also took a swipe at President Donald Trump’s border wall proposal, calling it “the president’s medieval vanity project” and saying it won’t stop transnational gangs.

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5:35 a.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala (KAH’mah-lah) Harris says she’s the kind of leader who can unify the country and would fight for the needs of all Americans.

The first-term California senator, who announced her candidacy on Monday, plans a speech at a rally in Oakland, her hometown, later Sunday, as she outlines her campaign.

Harris says she’s running to be “a president by the people. Of the people. For all the people.” That’s according to prepared remarks obtained by The Associated Press.

If Harris emerges from a crowded Democratic field in 2020 to become the nominee and then wins the White House, she’d be the first woman to be president, the first African-American woman to be president and the first woman of Asian descent to be president.