Harris vows to ‘put country before party and before self’

Ahead of Harris’ speech, her campaign has drawn up a lineup of speakers drawn from ordinary Americans, rather than the star power that has been featured at some of her recent events or the parade of elected officials that often features on the Washington agenda. They included Amanda Zurawski, a woman who nearly died of sepsis after she was denied medical care due to Texas’ strict abortion ban, and Craig Sicknick, brother of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after the attack January 6.

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

“I think everyone understands what’s on the ballot,” she said as she stood in line outside the Treasury building to get into 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 location 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.

Harris sought to lay out a pragmatic and forward-looking plan for the country, including reminding voters of her economic proposals and promising to work to ensure access to reproductive care, including abortion.

“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 will give them a seat at my table. And I promise to be the president of all Americans. Always put the country above the party and above yourself.”

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

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Harris said. “We have to stop pointing fingers and start clasping hands. It’s time to turn the page on drama, conflict and confusion.”

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 recognize that this has not been a typical campaign,” Harris said, adding that she is “not afraid to go hard against bad actors and powerful interests.”

“I will work every day to build consensus and reach compromise to get things done,” she said.

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,” hinting that Harris was amplifying her former chief of staff’s warnings that Trump spoke admiringly of the Nazi leader while in office.

Harris aides, many of whom also advised Biden’s campaign before he bowed out, still believe that focusing the race on who Trump is and how he is different will be their strongest message to voters .

“She has already expressed her opinion, presented evidence. “Tonight she is taking stock and has faith in the wisdom of the jury,” said campaign communications director Michael Tyler.

Biden told reporters Tuesday that he would not attend Harris’ speech because the event was “for her,” but he planned to watch it on television. Ahead of Harris’ remarks, Biden reacted to comic calling Puerto Rico trash Trump rally last weekend saying, “The only trash I see out there are his supporters.”

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Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in Palm Beach, Florida, Ayana Alexander in Baltimore and Fatima Hussein and Gary Fields in Washington contributed to this report.