Harris says Trump is 'cruel' as she spotlights abortion restrictions in Georgia during early voting

ATLANTA (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris said Saturday that Republican former President Donald Trump was “cruel” for how he talked about the grieving family of a Georgia mother who died after waiting 20 hours for a hospital to treat her complications from an abortion pill, as she put combating restrictions on reproductive care at the center of her pitch to voters.

At a rally in Atlanta, Harris blamed Amber Thurman’s death on Georgia's abortion restrictions that took effect after the Supreme Court in 2022, with three Trump-appointed justices, overturned Roe v. Wade. It comes as Harris is looking to the issue to propel support to Democrats, who have pledged to restore a national right to abortion if they win the White House and enough seats in Congress.

“Donald Trump still refuses to take accountability, to take any accountability, for the pain and the suffering he has caused," Harris said.

Thurman' story features at the center of one of Harris' closing campaign ads, and her family attended her Atlanta rally, with her mother holding a photo of her daughter from the audience. Harris showed a clip of Trump saying during a recent Fox News Channel town hall, when he was asked about the Thurman family joining a separate media call, “We’ll get better ratings, I promise.”

“A grieving family, a grieving family, sharing the memory of their daughter with our nation. Where is the compassion?" she asked. “What we see continually from Donald Trump is exactly what that clip shows," Harris added. "He belittles their sorrow, making it about himself and his television ratings. It is cruel."

Before Harris became the Democratic nominee, Ian Summer, 19, planned on voting against Trump — but he wasn’t enthusiastic about President Joe Biden. Since Harris stepped into the race “she’s brought great energy,” Summer said. Summer is worried about restrictions on abortion access under Trump. “The fact that I could have a wife in the future that may not be able to receive the care that she needs, that’s a very scary thing,” he said.

Early voting is also underway in Georgia. More than 1.2 million ballots have been cast, either in person or by mail. Democrats hope an expansive organizing effort will boost Harris against Trump in the campaign’s final weeks. Harris referenced that former President Jimmy Carter recently voted by mail days after his 100th birthday.

“If Jimmy Carter can vote early, you can too,” Harris said.

Roderick Williams, 56, brought his three daughters to Harris’ Atlanta rally. His youngest daughter was born around the time former President Barack Obama entered office, and he hopes they can witness history again by seeing Harris become the first Black woman to be president.

“It’s important for them to see that anything’s possible,” Williams said.

Harris was joined at the rally by hometown music icon Usher, drawing again on star power as she looks to excite voters to the polls. Earlier Saturday she appeared with Lizzo on Saturday in the singer's hometown of Detroit, marking the beginning of in-person voting and lavishing the city with praise after Trump recently disparaged it.

“All the best things were made in Detroit. Coney Dogs, Faygo and Lizzo,” the singer joked to a rally crowd, pointing to herself after listing off the hot dogs and soda that the city is famous for.

She said it was time to “put some respect on Detroit’s name” noting that the city had revolutionized the auto and music industries and adding that she'd already cast her ballot for Harris since voting early was “a power move.”

Heaps of praise for the Motor City came after Trump, the former president, insulted it during a recent campaign stop. And Harris continued the theme, saying of her campaign, "Like the people of Detroit, we have grit, we have excellence, we have history.”

Arms wide open as she took the stage, Harris let the crowd see she was wearing under her blazer a “Detroit vs. Everybody” T-shirt that the owner of the business that produces them gave her during a previous stop in the city earlier in the week. She also moved around the stage during her speech with a hand-held mic, not using a teleprompter.

More than 1 million Michigan residents have already voted by mail in the Nov. 5 election, and Harris predicted that Detroit turnout for early voting would be strong.

“Who is the capital of producing records?" Harris asked when imploring the crowd to set new highs for early voting tallies. "We are going to break some records here in Detroit today.”

She slammed Trump as unstable: “Somebody just needs to watch his rallies, if you’re not really sure how to vote.”

“We’re not going to get these 17 days back. On Election Day, we don’t want to have any regrets," the vice president said.

Lizzo also told the crowd, "Mrs. Commander-in-Chief has a nice ring to it.”

“This is the swing state of all swing states, so every last vote here counts," the singer said. Then, referencing her song of the same title, Lizzo added, “If you ask me if America is ready for its first woman president, I only have one thing to say: “It’s about damn time!”

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement that Harris needed Lizzo “to hide the fact that Michiganders were feeling good under President Trump – real wages were higher, prices were lower, and everyone was better off.”

Talona Johnson, a product manager from Rochester, Michigan, attended Harris’ rally and said that Harris “and her team are doing the things that are required to make sure that people are informed."

“I believe she’s telling the truth. She’s trying to help the people," said Johnson, who said she planned to vote for Harris and saw women’s rights as her top concern.

"I don’t necessarily agree with everything that she’s put out, but she’s better than the alternative,”

In comments to reporters before the rally, Harris said she was in Detroit “to thank all the folks for the work they are doing to help organize and register people to vote, and get them out to vote today. She also called Detroit “a great American city” with “a lot of hard-working folks that have grit and ambition and deserve to be respected.”

The vice president was asked about whether the Biden administration's full-throated support for Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza might hurt her support in Michigan. Dearborn, near Detroit, is the largest city with an Arab majority in the nation.

“It has never been easy," Harris said of Middle East policy. "But that doesn’t mean we give up.”

Associated Press writers Matt Brown in Detroit, Charlotte Kramon in Atlanta and Will Weissert and Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Western International High School in Detroit, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Supporters watch as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Western International High School in Detroit, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A young attendee waits for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris to speak at a campaign event at Western International High School in Detroit, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Western International High School in Detroit, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris boards Air Force Two as she departs from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Detroit, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, en route to Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

Lizzo, right, sits with a young attendee before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Western International High School in Detroit, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Lizzo attends a campaign event for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at Western International High School in Detroit, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Supporters watch as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Western International High School in Detroit, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Lizzo attends a campaign event for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at Western International High School in Detroit, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waves to the crowd as she arrives to speak at a campaign event at Lakewood Amphitheatre, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Lakewood Amphitheatre, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Western International High School in Detroit, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Lakewood Amphitheatre, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Lakewood Amphitheatre, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak during a campaign event at the Oakland Expo Center, in Oakland County, Mich., Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A day after the audacious U.S. military operation in Venezuela, President Donald Trump on Sunday renewed his calls for an American takeover of the Danish territory of Greenland for the sake of U.S. security interests, while his top diplomat declared the communist government in Cuba is “in a lot of trouble.”

The comments from Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the ouster of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro underscore that the U.S. administration is serious about taking a more expansive role in the Western Hemisphere.

With thinly veiled threats, Trump is rattling hemispheric friends and foes alike, spurring a pointed question around the globe: Who's next?

“It’s so strategic right now. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place," Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington from his home in Florida. "We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”

Asked during an interview with The Atlantic earlier on Sunday what the U.S.-military action in Venezuela could portend for Greenland, Trump replied: “They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don’t know.”

Trump, in his administration's National Security Strategy published last month, laid out restoring “American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere” as a central guidepost for his second go-around in the White House.

Trump has also pointed to the 19th century Monroe Doctrine, which rejects European colonialism, as well as the Roosevelt Corollary — a justification invoked by the U.S. in supporting Panama’s secession from Colombia, which helped secure the Panama Canal Zone for the U.S. — as he's made his case for an assertive approach to American neighbors and beyond.

Trump has even quipped that some now refer to the fifth U.S. president's foundational document as the “Don-roe Doctrine.”

Saturday's dead-of-night operation by U.S. forces in Caracas and Trump’s comments on Sunday heightened concerns in Denmark, which has jurisdiction over the vast mineral-rich island of Greenland.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in a statement that Trump has "no right to annex" the territory. She also reminded Trump that Denmark already provides the United States, a fellow member of NATO, broad access to Greenland through existing security agreements.

“I would therefore strongly urge the U.S. to stop threatening a historically close ally and another country and people who have made it very clear that they are not for sale,” Frederiksen said.

Denmark on Sunday also signed onto a European Union statement underscoring that “the right of the Venezuelan people to determine their future must be respected” as Trump has vowed to “run” Venezuela and pressed the acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, to get in line.

Trump on Sunday mocked Denmark’s efforts at boosting Greenland’s national security posture, saying the Danes have added “one more dog sled” to the Arctic territory’s arsenal.

Greenlanders and Danes were further rankled by a social media post following the raid by a former Trump administration official turned podcaster, Katie Miller. The post shows an illustrated map of Greenland in the colors of the Stars and Stripes accompanied by the caption: “SOON."

“And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Amb. Jesper Møller Sørensen, Denmark's chief envoy to Washington, said in a post responding to Miller, who is married to Trump's influential deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.

During his presidential transition and in the early months of his return to the White House, Trump repeatedly called for U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland, and has pointedly not ruled out military force to take control of the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island that belongs to an ally.

The issue had largely drifted out of the headlines in recent months. Then Trump put the spotlight back on Greenland less than two weeks ago when he said he would appoint Republican Gov. Jeff Landry as his special envoy to Greenland.

The Louisiana governor said in his volunteer position he would help Trump “make Greenland a part of the U.S.”

Meanwhile, concern simmered in Cuba, one of Venezuela’s most important allies and trading partners, as Rubio issued a new stern warning to the Cuban government. U.S.-Cuba relations have been hostile since the 1959 Cuban revolution.

Rubio, in an appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press,” said Cuban officials were with Maduro in Venezuela ahead of his capture.

“It was Cubans that guarded Maduro,” Rubio said. “He was not guarded by Venezuelan bodyguards. He had Cuban bodyguards.” The secretary of state added that Cuban bodyguards were also in charge of “internal intelligence” in Maduro’s government, including “who spies on who inside, to make sure there are no traitors.”

Trump said that “a lot” of Cuban guards tasked with protecting Maduro were killed in the operation. The Cuban government said in a statement read on state television on Sunday evening that 32 officers were killed in the U.S. military operation.

Trump also said that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, is in tatters and will slide further now with the ouster of Maduro, who provided the Caribbean island subsidized oil.

“It's going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It's going down for the count.”

Cuban authorities called a rally in support of Venezuela’s government and railed against the U.S. military operation, writing in a statement: “All the nations of the region must remain alert, because the threat hangs over all of us.”

Rubio, a former Florida senator and son of Cuban immigrants, has long maintained Cuba is a dictatorship repressing its people.

“This is the Western Hemisphere. This is where we live — and we’re not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be a base of operation for adversaries, competitors, and rivals of the United States," Rubio said.

Cubans like 55-year-old biochemical laboratory worker Bárbara Rodríguez were following developments in Venezuela. She said she worried about what she described as an “aggression against a sovereign state.”

“It can happen in any country, it can happen right here. We have always been in the crosshairs,” Rodríguez said.

AP writers Andrea Rodriguez in Havana, Cuba, and Darlene Superville traveling aboard Air Force One contributed reporting.

In this photo released by the White House, President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Molly Riley/The White House via AP)