Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday rounded out a two-day swing through battleground Georgia with a rally in Savannah, where she warned Peach State voters that the nation has more on the line this November than it did just four years prior. 

What You Need To Know

  • Harris warned that the nation has more on the line this November than it did just four years prior due to the Supreme Court ruling in July in former President Donald Trump's immunity case that found that presidents are shielded from prosecution from most acts that fall under their official duties as commander in chief
  • The vice president then turned to make a forceful appeal to supporters on the ground to put in the same level of work they did in 2020, when Georgia voted to send President Joe Biden and Harris to the White House and elected Democrats, Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, to occupy that state’s two seats in the Senate 
  • The vice president’s campaign has made clear it is putting time, energy and resources into keeping the Peach State – which, until 2020, had not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in nearly three decades – blue 
  • While President Joe Biden had appeared to be slipping in support among Georgians before his exit from the race in July, recent polls, including one from Fox News released this week, show Harris with a slight edge over Trump in the Peach state

“And understand, this is not 2016 or 2020 – things are different,” Harris said to a raucous crowd on Thursday. “The stakes in 2024 are even higher because we have to consider that the United States Supreme Court recently just basically told the former president that, going forward, he will be effectively immune no matter what he does in the White House.”

Harris, referring to the Supreme Court ruling in July that found that presidents are shielded from prosecution from most acts that fall under their official duties as commander in chief, urged the Georgia crowd to imagine how former President Donald Trump would treat a second term without “at least the threat of consequence.” 

“Understand what it now means,” she said, “Donald Trump with no guardrails.” 

Harris was interrupted at points by protesters calling for an end to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. She emphasized to the crowd, which tried to drown the protesters out, that "everyone has a right and should have their voices heard," but that President Joe Biden's administration is working tirely to negotiate a deal to end the fighting.

"The president and I are working around the clock," Harris said. "We've got to get a hostage deal done and get a cease-fire done now."

The vice president then turned to make a forceful appeal to supporters on the ground to put in the same level of work they did in 2020, when Georgia voted to send President Joe Biden and Harris to the White House and elected Democrats, Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, to occupy that state’s two seats in the Senate. 

“You showed up, you knocked on doors, you registered folks to vote and you made it happen – you did that, you did that,” she said. “And so now, we are asking you to do it again.” 

The vice president’s campaign has made clear it is putting time, energy and resources into keeping the Peach State – which, until 2020, had not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in nearly three decades – blue. And the Harris team’s decision to send the vice president through rural parts of the state has been seen as an effort to pick up support in Republican territory. 

As for her rally, the campaign says it marks the first time a general election presidential candidate has campaigned in the city since the 1990’s – something a local voter told Spectrum News makes the vice president’s visit particularly special. 

“We are just so thrilled she chose to come to little Savannah,” resident Diane Temple said. “Often people do choose Atlanta, or they choose other larger cities, but we have a lot of strong voters and I'm so thrilled that she took the time out to come to a city that is just totally ignored by a larger political arena."

While Biden had appeared to be slipping in support among Georgians before his exit from the race in July, recent polls, including one from Fox News released this week, show Harris with a slight edge over Trump in the Peach state. 

Harris herself, however, urged supporters on Thursday not to put much weight into the polls, repeating that she is running as the “underdog” – a label she has seemingly proudly given herself. 

The vice president told the crowd that the race will be tight until the end, pledging to never give up. 

“The future is always worth fighting for, always, and that is the fight we are in right now, a fight for America’s future,” she said. 

Harris also railed against Trump and the GOP’s approach to abortion, calling bans on the practice in certain states that do not have exceptions for rape and incest “immoral.”  

“One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do,” Harris said, warning that despite Trump’s insistence that leaving the issue up to individual states is the right approach, he will sign a national abortion ban if elected.

Other stops on Harris' two-day tour in Georgia included visiting a local market and BBQ restaruant and watching a high school band practice with her running mate Gov. Tim Walz. The pair also sat down at a local cafe with CNN for their first joint interview, which is set to air Thursday night. 

Spectrum News' Cassie Semyon contributed to this report.