Election 2024 updates: Beshear says Vance 'ain't from Appalachia' at Harris event

Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday spoke at the American Federation of Teachers convention in Houston, Texas, where she rallied educators ahead of a fight against former President Donald Trump and his "extreme allies."

"In this moment, across our nation, we witness a full-on attack on hard-won, hard-fought freedoms," Harris said. "While you teach students about democracy and representative government, extremists attack the sacred freedom to vote. While you try to create safe and welcoming places where our children can learn, extremists attack our freedom to live safe from gun violence."

Harris went on to discuss efforts to pass gun safety laws and how Republicans are working to strike those efforts.

"In this moment, we are in a fight for our most fundamental freedoms and to this room of leaders I say, bring it on," Harris later added. "Bring it on. Bring it on."

Harris pinned the fight for freedoms against Project 2025, the conservative presidential transition blueprint.

"We are clear eyed. As we work to build a brighter future and to move our nation forward, there are those who are really trying to take us backwards. And you, I'm sure, have seen their agenda, Project 2025?" Harris said, eliciting strong boos from the audience.

She called Project 2025 "a plan to return America to a dark past."

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakeem and Will McDuffie

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark joined more than 30 House Democratic women Thursday to formally endorsee Harris' presidential run.

The group kicked off a news conference holding Harris signs and chanting "Kamala."

"[Harris] is capable visually, personally and politically to lead us to victory in November," Pelosi said.

Pelosi repeatedly referred to former President Donald Trump as "what's your name."

"We see ourselves in her. And more importantly, Kamala Harris sees us," Clark said. "She has a vision for the future that includes everyone, and reflects the needs and priorities of women from every corner of this country."

The congresswomen also made a point to extend their gratitude and appreciation for Biden.

"He is one of the most impactful presidents in modern history, with a record of achievement that will reverberate for generations to come," Clark said.

"Last night we saw President Joe Biden talk about his legacy, which, frankly, is our legacy too," Pelosi said. "With love and gratitude, I salute President Biden for always believing in the possibilities of America."

-ABC News' Lauren Peller and Emily Chang

Harris said that actions taken by protestors demonstrating against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks outside of Washington, D.C.'s Union Station Wednesday night as "despicable acts by unpatriotic protestors and dangerous hate-fueled rhetoric," in a statement Thursday.

"I condemn any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the State of Israel and kill Jews," Harris said in the statement. "Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent and we must not tolerate it in our nation."

She also strongly condemned burning of the American flag, which was captured in several videos at the scene.

"That flag is a symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of America," Harris said. "It should never be desecrated in that way."

The statement came after House Speaker Mike Johnson and a small group House Republicans went to Union Station late Wednesday night to put up American flags.

"Earlier today, pro-Hamas protesters took down the American flags at Union Station, burned them and raised Palestinian flags. Tonight, we righted their wrong. American flags are once again flying over Union Station. We will not let the terrorist mob win," Johnson said in a statement on X.

Sen. Ted Cruz reposted a video of the protests at Union Station on X, saying the protesters are part of the "left's base," claiming "Make no mistake: mainstream Democrats will do anything they can to pander to these antisemites."

Harris is set to meet with Netanyahu at the White House Thursday. It also comes as people are watching carefully to see how she defines her stance on the Israeli-Hamas War as a presidential candidate -- a contentious issue which was a political albatross for Biden when he was a candidate.

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart and Lauren Peller

Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday released her first official campaign video since jumping into the race for president, in which she zeroes in on her message of "freedom" while taking direct jabs at former President Donald Trump's legal woes by using his mug shot.

"In this election, we each face a question: What kind of country do we want to live in?" Harris says in the video titled "We Choose Freedom."

"There are some people who think we should be a country of chaos. Of fear. Of hate," she says, as images of Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, flash on screen. "But us. We choose something different; we choose freedom."

The video features Beyonce's "Freedom," a song that the vice president plays as she takes the stage at rallies. It includes shots from Harris' rally just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which, according to the campaign, was their largest ever this cycle, including all of President Joe Biden's rallies since he got into the race in April 2023.

The new campaign add features Harris saying "no one is above the law" over footage of the the former president's mug shot and newspaper headlines after he was convicted in a New York court.

On the campaign trail, Harris has sought to frame the race as being between a former prosecutor and a convicted felon.

Harris said she has a vision of the future "where no child lives in poverty, where we all can afford health care, where no one is above the law," and Americans have "the freedom not just to get by but get ahead. The freedom to be safe from gun violence. The freedom to make decisions about your own body."

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie