伊利诺伊州参议员谭美 达克沃斯。他的家乡所在的州正在举办民主党全国代表大会。他说,副总统卡玛拉 哈里斯正在为本周的重大政治集会做准备。
杜克沃斯对“本周”的联合主持人玛莎·拉达茨说，“势头正在持续增长”，并且“与我们的信息保持一致将是获得更多支持的重要组成部分”，特别是在经济方面，因为大多数民调显示，选民在经济和通货膨胀方面信任前总统唐纳德·川普多于哈里斯。
“在芝加哥，我们扭转了局面。我们这里已经有九次信用升级了。在过去的四年里，我们一直保持预算平衡。这确实是我们在民主党掌权时发出的信息。我们将让经济重回正轨，”杜克沃斯周日表示。
“我们将继续保持我们开创的势头。她补充说:“通货膨胀正在下降，我认为这是卡玛拉在与那些工薪家庭、中等收入家庭对话时将要谈论的话题，你们是我们的优先考虑对象。”。
当Raddatz按下最新的美国广播公司新闻/华盛顿邮报/益普索民意调查显示哈里斯在这个问题上的立场是消极的杜克沃斯说，她相信哈里斯能在选举前扭转局面。她引用了哈里斯最近的经济计划其中包括禁止食品和杂货的“价格欺诈”，扩大儿童税收抵免，并为首次购房者提供高达2.5万美元的首付款援助。
杜克沃斯预计，哈里斯本周将“讨论更多细节”，但他强调，“关键是要讨论我们将如何在我们的经济计划中把工薪家庭放在首位。”
杜克沃斯说，川普“站在企业一边”。他站在收入超过一百万美元的人一边。民主党人站在工薪家庭一边，我们将把他们放在首要位置。”
然而，本周在芝加哥，经济并不是民主党人唯一关心的事情。
预计数千名示威者也会来到这座城市，抗议拜登政府对加沙战争的处理，这可能会分散人们对联合中心民主党人派对气氛的注意力，并引发对安全的担忧。
周日，当被问及哈里斯如何在这个问题上与乔·拜登总统区分开来时，杜克沃斯说:“我认为我们需要努力达成停火协议。”。“我认为她可以推动的是谈论确保我们把人道主义援助送到加沙，我认为她会更倾向于人道主义方面的事情。”
芝加哥市长布兰登·约翰逊(Brandon Johnson)是一名民主党人，他本人有积极分子的背景，周日坚称他的城市已经做好准备。
“我们已经为这次大会做好了准备，”约翰逊在“本周”的一次单独采访中告诉拉达茨
“然而，在这一时刻，最令人兴奋的是，这是一个能够处理抗议活动和保护第一修正案权利的政党，这是我们民主的基础，同时也加强了我们的民主，代表了我们国家的未来，”他说。
“我们当地的警察局与特勤局以及其他当地机构合作，以确保一个安全、和平但充满活力、令人兴奋的大会，”约翰逊补充说。
杜克沃斯周日还批评川普最近关于荣誉勋章获得者的评论“要么是因为被子弹击中多次，身体状况非常糟糕，要么就是已经死了。”特朗普竞选团队表示，前总统指的是颁奖的经历，而不是诋毁荣誉勋章或服役人员的行为。
杜克沃斯本人是一名伊战老兵，在一次直升机坠毁事故中受伤后被截肢，她在越战期间五次推迟征兵，有报道称特朗普在任期内称阵亡的军人为“失败者”。（特朗普强烈否认据报道，拜登在退出竞选前在竞选活动中重复了这些话。)
“美国选民有机会选择。他们想要一个五次逃避兵役的人吗？他诋毁军人和退伍军人，称我们是笨蛋和失败者。谁不想和经历过各种冲突的截肢老兵合影，成为下一任总司令呢？还是会有卡玛拉·哈里斯和蒂姆·沃尔兹这样深切关心退伍军人的人？”杜克沃斯说。
她还赞扬了明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·瓦尔兹在陆军国民警卫队服役24年，为他辩护对过去说他“在战争中”携带武器的评论的批评当他没有真正见过战斗的时候。
“我们说，‘当你说话的时候，你经常说一些事情。’但是请记住，这个人已经服了24年的兵役。他是一名退休的军士长。我很高兴副总统办公室的情况室里有一位退休的军士长。当我们审视世界各地的冲突问题时，有这样的经历会很棒，”她说。
当Walz在退休前担任指挥军士长时，他没有担任这个职位足够长的时间以这个头衔退休。Walz多年来一直自称是“退休的司令部军士长”,美国广播公司新闻报道哈里斯-瓦尔兹竞选网站上他的简历中有一行也是这样描述他的，但后来被编辑了。
Israel-Gaza live updates: Netanyahu says Israel 'can't be flexible' on some issues
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., whose home state is hosting the Democratic National Convention, said Vice President Kamala Harris is on the upswing heading into the major political gathering this week.
Speaking to "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz, Duckworth said "momentum is continuing to build" and that being "consistent with our messaging will be a big part of" gaining more support, particularly on the economy, as most polling suggests voters trust former President Donald Trump more than Harris on the economy and inflation.
"Here in Chicago, we've turned things around. We've had nine credit upgrades here. We've had balanced budgets for the last four years. And this is really the message that we're sending when Democrats are in charge. We're going to put the economy back on track," Duckworth said Sunday.
"We're going to continue the momentum that we started. Inflation is coming down, and I think that is what Kamala is going to be talking about when she's going to be talking to those working families, those middle-income families, you're our priority," she added.
When pressed by Raddatz on the latest ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos polling showing Harris on her back foot on the issue, Duckworth said she believes Harris can turn it around before the election. She cited Harris' recent economic plan, which includes proposals to ban "price gouging" on food and groceries, expand the child tax credit and offer up to $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers.
Duckworth predicted Harris will "get into more details" this week but stressed that "the key is to talk about [how] we are going to put working families front and center in our economic plan."
Trump, Duckworth said, is "on the side of corporations. He's on the sides of people who make over a million dollars. Democrats [are] on the side of working families, and we're going to put them front and center."
The economy won't be the only thing on Democrats' minds in Chicago this week, however.
Thousands of demonstrators are anticipated to descend on the city, as well, to protest the Biden administration's handling of the war in Gaza, threatening a distraction from Democrats' party-like atmosphere in the United Center and sparking worries over security.
"I think we need to work hard on getting the cease-fire agreement," Duckworth said Sunday when asked how Harris could differentiate herself from President Joe Biden on the issue. "And I think what she can push for is to talk about making sure that we get the humanitarian aid into Gaza, and I think she would lean more heavily toward the humanitarian side of things."
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat who himself has a background as an activist, insisted Sunday that his city is prepared.
"We are ready for this convention," Johnson told Raddatz in a separate interview on "This Week."
"The part that's actually most exciting, though, in this moment is that this is a party that can handle protests and protecting the First Amendment right, which is fundamental to our democracy, while also strengthening our democracy and speaking to the future of our country," he said.
"Our local police department has worked with the Secret Service as well as other local agencies to ensure a safe, peaceful yet vibrant, exciting convention," Johnson added.
Duckworth on Sunday also criticized Trump for recent comments referring to recipients of the Medal of Honor as "either in very bad shape because they've been hit so many times by bullets, or they're dead." The Trump campaign said the former president was referring to the experience of giving the award, not denigrating the Medal of Honor or the actions of service members.
Herself an Iraq War veteran who had her legs amputated after being injured in a helicopter crash, Duckworth targeted Trump's five draft deferments during the Vietnam War and reports that he purportedly called fallen service members "losers" during his time in office. (Trump has vehemently denied the reported remarks, which Biden repeated on the campaign trail before he dropped out of the race.)
"American voters have a chance to choose. Do they want a five-time draft dodger who denigrates military men and women and our veterans and calls us suckers and losers? Who doesn't want to have his picture taken with amputee veterans of various conflicts to be the next commander in chief? Or are you going to have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz who care deeply about veterans?" Duckworth said.
She also praised Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's own 24-year service in the Army National Guard, defending him against criticism over past comments saying he'd carried a weapon "in war" when he had not actually seen combat.
"We say, 'when you speak, oftentimes, you say things.' But remember, this man served 24 years in uniform. He was a, he's a retired command sergeant major. I'm excited to have a retired command sergeant major in the vice president's office, in the Situation Room. When we look at issues of conflicts around the world, it's going to be great to have that experience," she said.
While Walz was serving as a command sergeant major leading up to his retirement, he did not hold the position long enough to retire with the title. Walz repeatedly referred to himself as a "retired command sergeant major" for years, ABC News has reported, and a line in his bio on the Harris-Walz campaign website also described him that way but has since been edited.
