Vice President Kamala Harris rallied thousands of members of the most powerful teachers unions in the country to join her in a fight against what she called former President Donald J. Trump’s plans to roll back their rights, gut their protections and undermine their profession.
In a keynote address at the national convention of the American Federation of Teachers, Ms. Harris blasted efforts by “extremists” who she said wanted to take the country back to a “dark past” that included “failed trickle-down economics,” union busting, slashing social programs and curtailing student loan forgiveness.
And before the crowd of 3,500 people, she assailed fraught policies that flourished under the former president’s administration, such as attempts to ban books about Black history and arm teachers.
“Just think about it: So, we want to ban assault weapons, and they want to ban books,” Ms. Harris said, prompting the crowd to boo.
Ms. Harris, who has been on a blitz of events since announcing her candidacy this week, amplified attack lines against Mr. Trump, her Republican opponent, that have become the centerpiece of her already sharpened stump speech.
Ms. Harris used the platform to continue drawing attention to far-right plans that could come to fruition should Mr. Trump win a second term, pointing to a 900-page document compiled by his conservative allies called “Project 2025.” The document calls for cutting social safety net and education programs like Head Start, which provides preschool for millions of low-income children.
“Project 2025 is a plan to return America to a dark past,” Ms. Harris said. “Donald Trump and his extreme allies want to take our nation back.”
The policy document is not Mr. Trump’s official platform, though it was created by some of his allies, including some who served in his administration or could do so in a second one. He has sought to distance himself from it.
Mr. Trump has ramped up his attacks on Ms. Harris in recent days, painting her as a “radical liberal” who was responsible for Mr. Biden’s most left-leaning policies. At a campaign rally on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said he was “not going to be nice.”
To the union, which also represents some health care workers and federal and state employees, Ms. Harris made what appeared to be a tacit acknowledgment of the race heating up.
“In this moment, we are in a fight for our most fundamental freedoms,” she told the crowd. “And to this room of leaders, I say: Bring it on.”
Ms. Harris was met with an enthusiastic response from the union, the first to endorse her after she announced that she would run for president shortly after President Biden abandoned his campaign on Sunday.
On Thursday, Ms. Harris acknowledged Mr. Biden, a staunch union supporter, at the beginning of her remarks as she has done every day so far on the campaign trail. She told the crowd that “he has led with grace and strength, and bold vision and deep compassion.”
She also said she would continue his efforts to get a bill to expand union rights, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, passed by Congress and signed into law.
Ms. Harris also indicated that under her administration, she would not backtrack from the unapologetic pro-union stance that has been central to the Biden administration.
“The fact is: Unions helped build America’s middle class,” she said. “And when unions are strong, America is strong.”
Randi Weingarten, the president of the A.F.T., said that the union usually does not endorse a candidate until after its convention, but that the executive council responsible for endorsements thought it was a “no-brainer” to do it within hours after Mr. Biden announced he was dropping out, which took place during the convention.
“The excitement around her candidacy, particularly with Black women, and A.A.P.I. women, and women in general, is riveting,” Ms. Weingarten said in an interview, referring to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. “I’ve seen it in this convention, and that excitement has become contagious.”
A sea of signs in the crowd read “Kamala Harris for President” — they had been printed overnight on Monday — and several of Ms. Harris’s lines drew raucous applause. At one point, the crowd chanted “bring it on,” repeating one of Ms. Harris’s lines.
Ms. Harris has garnered strong support from teachers during the Biden administration, having been the most forceful voice against books bans and other divisive policies, like a law in Florida that critics nicknamed “Don’t Say Gay” and similar statutes that penalize L.G.B.T.Q. educators.
On Thursday, Ms. Harris recounted how she was among the first elected officials in the country to perform same-sex marriages in 2004.
“It pains me so to think 20 years later that there are some young teachers in their 20s who are afraid to put up a photograph of themselves and their partner for fear they could lose their job,” she said. “And what is their job? The most noble of work, teaching other people’s children. And God knows we don’t pay you enough as it is.”
In a statement criticizing Ms. Harris’s appearance at the convention, Michael Whatley, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, accused Ms. Harris of “already ignoring parents and getting cozy with the same teachers union bosses who she allowed to dictate school reopening guidance and keep kids out of the classrooms.”
He said Mr. Trump and Republicans understood that “divisive liberal ideology has no place in the classroom. “
“Now more than ever, we need a president that empowers parents over union bosses, which is why families across the country will vote to send President Donald J. Trump back to the White House in November,” Mr. Whatley said.
Ms. Harris was introduced by Brittany Shoup, a special-education teacher in Pittsburgh who had about $30,000 in student loans forgiven in 2022, after the Biden administration fixed the long-broken Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The program forgives some debt for workers in several public service jobs, including teaching.
She said Ms. Harris’s juxtaposition of banning books and banning assault weapons was “refreshing.” “I love that her message really focused on teachers,” Ms. Shoup said. “It felt like talking to a friend, like she really understands our issues. She just gets it.”
“I didn’t have this on my bingo card,” Ms. Shoup said, referring to Ms. Harris’s abrupt entry into the presidential race, “but there’s such an excitement around her running. She’s always stood with us, so we’re going to stand with her.”
During her address, Ms. Harris paid homage to a first-grade teacher, Frances Wilson, who she said “taught me and educated me and encouraged me and inspired me.”
“It is because of Mrs. Wilson and so many teachers like her that I stand for you as vice president of the United States of America,” she said. “And that I’m planning to become president of the United States of America.”
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