Harris rallies Ellipse voters and criticizes Trump’s divisive policies

Kamala Harris vowed she would put country before party and herself as she stood before a packed crowd outside the White House on Tuesday.

A week before Election DayThe vice president used her speech on the grassy ellipse to promise Americans she would work to improve their lives, while insisting that her Republican opponent was only in it for himself. A Harris campaign spokesman said more than 75,000 people came to the National Mall to watch the vice president deliver his closing remarks.

She deliberately spoke from the same place where Donald Trump incited the Capitol riot to highlight the stark contrast for voters.

“I’ll be honest with you: I’m not perfect,” she said. “I make mistakes. But here’s what I promise you: I will always listen to you, even if you don’t vote for me. I will always tell you the truth, even if it is difficult to hear. I will work every day to build consensus and compromise to get things done. And if you give me the chance to fight on your behalf, nothing in the world will stand in my way.”

Harris began her keynote speech by reminding voters of Trump’s role in chaos January 6, 2021as he spewed lies about the 2020 presidential election that inspired a mob to march to the Capitol and unsuccessfully try to stop the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. She spoke of his threats to use the army against his political rivals and his calling those who disagree with him “enemies from within.”

“Look, we know who Donald Trump is. This is the man who stood in this very spot almost four years ago and sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election,” she said. said. Trump, she added, “spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other.”

“This is not a presidential candidate who thinks about how to make your life better,” she said, calling Trump a “petty tyrant” and a “wannabe dictator.”

Harris continued, “But America, I’m here tonight to say: That’s not who we are.” She added: “It doesn’t have to be this way.”

Harris has sought to use her biggest remaining stage before polls close to make a broader case for why voters should reject Trump and consider what she offers, while introducing herself to voters demanding more information.

With the White House glowing behind her, Harris encouraged the crowd to imagine different futures depending on who wins on Election Day.

“In less than 90 days, either Donald Trump or I will be in the Oval Office,” she said. “On day one, if Donald Trump is elected, he will walk into this office with a list of enemies. When I’m elected, I’ll walk in with a to-do list.”

Harris went on to list key policy goals, including expanding Medicare coverage of home health care, increasing the nation’s housing supply and working to restore nationwide access to abortion.

Her speech drew a huge crowd in Washington, and supporters flocked to the Washington Monument on the National Mall. More importantly, her campaign hopes the environment will help reach voters in states who remain undecided about who to vote for — or whether to vote at all.

Ahead of Harris’ speech, her campaign featured a lineup of ordinary Americans talking about their dreams and priorities, rather than the show of star power that has been on display at some of Harris’ recent events.

They included Amanda Zurawski, a woman who nearly died of sepsis after she was denied medical care due to Texas’ strict abortion ban; Craig Sicknick, brother of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after the attack 6 January, and a resident of Pennsylvania. a husband and wife who previously voted for Trump but now support Harris.

Ruth Kyari, 78, of Charlottesville, Virginia, attended the pro-democracy rally with her husband.

“I think everyone understands what the ballot says,” she said as she stood in line outside the Treasury building to attend the event. “We will either have an autocrat or freedom.”

Kathleen Nicholas, 36, a government relations worker in Washington, recalled Jan. 6 and liked the contrast of the crowd and atmosphere that day. “I love that she chose this place for her closing,” she said. “Having something that directly contrasts with that day is what we needed.”

With time running out and the race tight, Harris and Trump were both looking for big moments to try to swing the tide in their favor.

The address came days after Harris traveled to Texas, a staunchly Republican state, to appear with megastar Beyoncé and highlight the consequences for women after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. It was also a speech designed to register voters in distant battleground states.

The Vice President’s latest address has been in the works for several weeks. But aides hoped her message would have more impact after Trump rally on Sunday at Madison Square Garden in New York, where speakers made violent and racist insults. Harris said the event “underscored what I’ve been emphasizing throughout this campaign.”

“He is focused and actually fixated on his grievances, on himself and on dividing our country,” she said.

“Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe that people who disagree with me are enemies,” Harris said. “He wants to put them in jail. I’ll give them a seat at my table. And I promise to be a president for all Americans. Always put the country above the party and above yourself.”

Also central to her message: positioning herself as a leader of the “new generation” after Trump and even her current boss, President Joe Biden.

“It’s time to stop pointing fingers and start clasping hands,” she said. “It’s time to turn the page on drama and conflict, fear and division. It’s time for a new generation of leaders in America. And I am ready to offer that leadership as the next President of the United States.”

She acknowledged that “many of you are still learning who I am” following her unexpected rise to the top of the Democratic ticket after Biden dropped out of the race in July, and used her remarks to try to answer voters’ curiosity.

“I understand this is not a typical campaign,” Harris said, adding that she is “not afraid to take a tough fight against bad actors and powerful interests.”

Ahead of Harris’ speech, Trump addressed reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Tuesday morning to accuse Harris of ending with a message that did not address the everyday concerns of Americans and their kitchen table. concern.

He said Harris continues to “talk about Hitler and the Nazis because her record is terrible,” referring to Harris amplifying her former chief of staff’s warnings that Trump spoke admiringly of the Nazi leader while in office.

Trump spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said: “His final argument to the American people is simple: Kamala broke it; he will fix it.”

Biden told reporters Tuesday that he would not attend Harris’ speech because the event was “for her,” but he caused an uproar ahead of Harris’ speech. Reacting to comic calling Puerto Rico trash Trump rally last weekendBiden said, “The only trash I see out there are his supporters.”

As Republicans amplified his comments seemingly denigrating Trump supporters, Biden sought to clear them up in a post on X. “Earlier today, I called the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by a Trump supporter at his rally at Madison Square Garden trash— and that’s the only word I can think of to describe it. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I wanted to say. The comments at this rally do not reflect who we are as a nation.”

Watch the full speech below:

The Associated Press contributed to this report.