World

Washington [US], July 31: US Vice President Kamala Harris challenged former President Donald Trump to a direct debate, while the Republican candidate has not decided whether to debate or not.
Campaigning in Atlanta, Georgia, US Vice President Kamala Harris challenged former President Donald Trump to a live debate, while also trying to attract African-American voters with the appearance of hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion.
"If you have something to say, say it to my face," The Guardian quoted Ms. Harris as saying, suggesting that there were signs that Mr. Trump was feeling competitive.
"You can see he's withdrawn from the debate. I really hope that Mr. Trump will agree to meet me on the debate stage , because as they say, if you have something to say, say it in person," said Vice President Harris.
Mr Trump has refused to commit to a debate since Ms Harris entered the race. The former president previously agreed to debate President Joe Biden a second time on September 10, but Mr Biden later withdrew from the race.
In an interview with Fox News, Mr. Trump said that he might eventually debate but "may also make a reason why not."
During the campaign, Ms. Harris recalled her election as district attorney, state attorney general and vice president, saying that she "has dealt with people like Mr. Trump throughout her career."
She recalled her history of prosecuting fraudsters and scammers, and mentioned Mr. Trump's criminal convictions in the porn hush-money case and civil fraud cases.
Mr. Trump did not immediately comment on Ms. Harris's latest statements.
In addition, Ms. Harris also recalled that she had crawled into tunnels on the California border dug by illegal immigrants, prosecuted human traffickers and pledged to reintroduce a border security bill after it was rejected by Republicans in Congress.
"Building the middle class will be the defining goal of my presidency. When our middle class is strong, America is strong. To keep our middle class strong, families need to be freed from the high cost of living so they have the opportunity not to get by, but to get ahead," she pledged.
She said she would prosecute price gouging and hidden fees by banks and other companies, continue to fight business owners to curb unfair rent increases and curb prescription drug costs.
On foreign policy, Ms Harris said Israel "has the right to defend itself" after an attack on a Hezbollah stronghold south of Beirut.
"But despite that, we still have to find a diplomatic solution to end these attacks and we will continue to do that," she added.
Ms Harris's campaign argues that her appeal to young people, working-age women and non-white voters has helped her upset Georgia and other states with similar demographics, from North Carolina to Nevada and Arizona.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper