An upbeat Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a forceful speech in Fayetteville on Thursday, even as President Joe Biden struggles to assuage concerns among Democrats about his fitness and ability to defeat Donald Trump in the fall election.   

This marks the vice president’s 15th trip to North Carolina, a crucial battleground state where Democrats are intensifying efforts to win.  

In her address to a crowd of several hundred at Westover High School, Harris laid out a stark choice for the nation’s future.  

“The question we face is what kind of country do we want to live in,” Harris said. “Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law? Or a country of chaos, fear and hate? We each have the power to answer this question.” 

Her visit came a day after President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. The White House said on Thursday that the president is experiencing mild symptoms. 

At the rally, some expressed concern that it was too late to replace Biden, but after hearing her speech, many felt reassured that Harris could effectively step into his place if necessary.   

“I think she could if she had to step in tomorrow, that she could do the job,” said Marvin Keller, a retired veteran and former school counselor. “But I am concerned because it’s so late in the political year, and the election is like 110 days away, that will make a big difference in trying to get whoever will replace President Biden get his face out there and to resonate with the public.” 

Others echoed the same sentiment.  

Franklin County resident Jesse Goslen, who is running for North Carolina House District 7, said Vice President Kamala Harris’ speech reassured him that she could take over if President Biden steps down as the Democratic nominee.   

“I think if he does decide to step aside, she’s the obvious person to take the reins,” said Goslen. “I kind of just wanted to see her in person and see how she does. I thought it was a good, I thought she did great, I think she could step up to the plate, if that’s what Biden decides.”  

Harris’s speech in Fayetteville came as Trump prepared to deliver a speech Thursday at the Republican National Convention, formally accepting the party’s nomination.  

In a statement, the GOP dismissed the Thursday event.  

“Republicans from across the country stand united behind President Trump in Milwaukee, while Democrats in North Carolina don’t even know if Kamala Harris will be their party’s nominee for Vice President or President,” North Carolina GOP spokesman Matt Mercer said. “There should be lots of questions for her in Fayetteville today about her party’s effort to drive their sitting presidential nominee from the ballot.” 

Harris used part of her talk to criticize GOP vice presidential nominee, Senator J.D. Vance, by linking him to the controversial Heritage Foundation agenda known as Project 2025. “He talked about his life story about growing up in southwest Ohio and it was compelling,” Harris said of Vance’s speech at the convention in Milwaukee.

“What is very telling is what he did not talk about on that stage. He did not talk about Project 2025…[a] 900 Page blueprint for a second Trump term. He did not talk about it, because their plans are extreme, and they are divisive.”    

Project 2025 proposes significant overhauls to the federal workforce, an expansion of presidential power, and a range of conservative policy priorities. These include plans for a mass deportation operation, widespread tariffs on imported goods, and revocation of FDA approval for mifepristone, an abortion medication.

Though the plan was crafted by a group that included numerous former staffers from his first administration, Trump recently denied any connection to Project 2025, writing on his social media platform Truth Social last week that he knows ‘nothing’ about the plan. 

“I have no idea who is behind it,” Trump wrote. “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”