Her appearance reflected her dual and perhaps awkward role as President Joe Biden’s leading advocate — and the person among the most likely to replace him if steps down amid increasing doubts about his ability to remain a viable candidate.

The vice president didn’t explicitly talk about the discord within the Democratic Party over Biden’s candidacy but there was a nod to it at the beginning of her speech.

“The past few days have been a reminder that running for president of the United States is never easy. But the one thing we know about our President Joe Biden is that he is a fighter,” Harris told the crowd. “And he is the first to say when you get knocked down, you get back up.”

Harris, previewing what is likely to be a major component of the Democratic campaign, hit hard on Project 2025, the 900-page plan-of-action from The Heritage Foundation that Trump has sought to distance himself from in recent days.

The document includes plans to cut Social Security, repeal a $35 cap on insulin set under the Biden administration and eliminate the Department of Education and the Head Start program.

“Project 2025 outlines a plan to limit access to contraception and for a nationwide abortion ban with or without a lack of conference,” she added.

At the event launching AANHPI for Biden-Harris, the vice president accepted the endorsement of multiple political groups and attacked Trump as unfit for a second term.

Harris has told her team that she has been wanting to personally take Trump to task on a litany of issues that are squarely in her wheelhouse. From his changing stance on abortion as the general election took shape to concerns about what the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling could unleash in his second term.

“The Supreme Court of the United States basically told this individual who has been convicted of fraud that going forward he will be for activity we know he is prepared to engage in if he gets back into the White House,” Harris said. “In this upcoming election, consider Donald Trump has openly vowed if reelected, that he’ll be a dictator on day one. That he will weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies, round up peaceful protesters and throw them out of our country and even, quote, terminate the United States Constitution.”

The speech comes as Democrats discuss Biden’s future as the standard-bearer of the party following his disastrous June 27 debate with Trump. The president has been adamant that he won’t be pushed aside, daring doubters to come to the convention and run against him.

And as the chatter continues, more Democrats are saying that if Harris were to become the nominee, she could change the dynamics of a race that has had Biden behind in polls for months.

In new polling from Democratic strategists Way to Win, 66 percent of Democrats and independent voters said they would support Harris if she became the nominee. The vice president does about as well as Biden in six battleground states, including Georgia and Arizona, but she has room to grow, the group says.

Way to Win isn’t calling for Biden to step aside but says that its research shows that Harris is vital to the campaign even as the No. 2 person on the ticket.

“This new data shows how critical it is to boost Vice President Harris as a more central part of the Biden-Harris ticket,” said Way to Win President and Co-Founder Tory Gavito. “She has strong support, and room to grow, with the voters that are key to winning in November: young voters, voters of color and women.”

Democratic operatives often point to her last two years being out front on issues like abortion as reasons why her candidacy might be underrated. More importantly, they say her arguments against Trump are some of the most cogent the campaign has launched since its inception.

By raising her profile, Harris will help the Democrats more broadly, says former communications director and veteran operative Jamal Simmons.

“One way or another, having more confidence in Vice President Harris will benefit the Democrats,” Simmons told POLITICO. “It will help people feel good about voting for this ticket.”

Harris has publicly and privately defended Biden since the debate. As she watched Biden’s face-plant, the vice president and her team realized her response would be closely scrutinized — and she quickly made clear to her staff that they shouldn’t try to sugarcoat how badly her running mate had performed, according to three aides granted anonymity to describe private discussions.

Harris told her advisers her role was simple, the aides said: project confidence as quickly and clearly as possible as a leader of the party, while preserving credibility by recognizing how weak the debate had been. “She wanted to have an acknowledgment of what everybody was seeing,” one senior Harris aide said.

That role has continued in the days since. With her joining Biden at rallying meetings for the campaign, and a July 4 event at the White House where they literally held on to each other as Democrats began voicing their concerns.

Brakkton Booker contributed to this report.