In a significant address on Tuesday, Kamala Harris aimed to remind the American public of the tumultuous times experienced during Donald Trump’s presidency while presenting an alternative vision if elected to lead the nation. This speech marked a pivotal moment in her campaign, which she referred to as her final argument to voters.
Harris spoke in front of a large gathering that overflowed from the Ellipse, a park close to the White House, extending back toward the Washington Monument. “I will always listen to you, even if you don’t vote for me,” she emphasized, looking to connect with the audience directly.
The choice of the Ellipse as a venue was particularly intentional; it is the location where Trump’s rhetoric previously incited a violent mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. While she didn’t dwell on the events of that day, the setting served as a stark reminder of the crucial decisions voters face. She pointed out that Trump has been sowing division and fear among Americans for over a decade and criticized his motives for wanting to regain the presidency as being self-serving rather than focused on public issues.
Drawing on her experience as a prosecutor and having served as California’s attorney general and a U.S. senator, Harris framed herself as a champion for the people, recalling her efforts against wrongdoers, including domestic abusers and drug trafficking networks. “There’s something about people being treated unfairly or overlooked that just gets to me,” she said, highlighting her commitment to advocacy as she approaches a potential presidency.
With only a week until Election Day, Harris acknowledged that many in the audience were still becoming familiar with her platform and character. After a brief campaign, having stepped in following President Biden’s withdrawal, she shared insights into her journey and aspirations, candidly admitting, “I know many of you are still getting to know who I am.”
During her speech, Harris laid out an extensive agenda for her first day in office, promising initiatives aimed at assisting first-time homebuyers and the “sandwich generation,” which includes individuals caring for both young children and aging parents. She spoke of her intentions to revive a bipartisan border security bill that stalled last year. Additionally, she made a strong pledge to restore abortion rights, asserting, “I will fight to restore what Donald Trump and his hand-selected Supreme Court justices took away from the women of America.” Since the Supreme Court’s controversial ruling in 2022, abortion rights have become a rallying point for many Democratic voters for the upcoming election.
As a contrast to Trump, who she posited would return with an enemies list, Harris claimed, “When elected, I will walk in with a to-do list.” The size of the crowd at her rally was significant as well, with reports indicating it was the largest she has drawn thus far, as attendees spilled onto the National Mall, with screens set up to accommodate the overflow. Harris has previously taken jabs at Trump about crowd sizes, which he often obsessively tracks.
In her criticisms of Trump, she distilled her sentiments into two simple yet powerful words: “petty tyrant.” Harris portrayed Trump as a grievance-driven individual, warning that his administration would center on his personal interests rather than on the larger democratic values fought for by previous generations. She reminded the audience that the struggles of earlier Americans should not be in vain as they face potential autocratic rule.
Meanwhile, President Biden stirred some controversy just before Harris’s speech by commenting on a recent derogatory remark made during a Trump rally about Puerto Rico. His rebuttal implied that the true “garbage” lies within Trump’s supporters, a statement that Republicans quickly seized upon to divert attention from Harris’s message. In an effort to clarify, Biden later emphasized that he was specifically addressing Trump’s behavior regarding marginalized communities.
Despite framing the event as her campaign’s climax, Harris’s work is far from over. She plans to continue her outreach with appearances in vital battleground states in the days leading up to the election, including Wisconsin, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada. The campaign is eager to capture a wide array of voter demographics, hoping to sway enough undecided individuals to secure a victory in what promises to be a close race against Trump.