Exclusive By: KANWAL ABIDI.
Washington D.C. Vice President Harris delivered a speech Tuesday on the White House Ellipse in Washington, D.C. — the very site at which former President Trump gave remarks to a crowd that later incitedriots at the Capitol. In front of a massive overflow crowd numbering up to 75,000 people, Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her “closing argument” in DC’s Ellipse. Harris was flanked for her speech by large blue USA signs on either side of her – with the White House lit up in the background. The Harris campaign estimated 75,000 people were on the National Mall just before she arrived. The rally at the Ellipsewas not an accident, it was deliberate to deliver message of its own. The choice of location also drove home Harris’s rebuke of Trump over January 6, 2021 — when a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol and disrupted Congress’s count of Electoral College votes that affirmed President Biden won the 2020 election. “Americans died as a result of that attack; 140 law enforcement officers were injured.And while Donald Trump sat in the White House watching, as the violence unfolded on television, he was told by staff that the mob wanted to kill his own vice president. Donald Trump responded with two words: ‘So what?’” she said. “That’s who Donald Trump is.” Harris later in her speech said that patriots throughout history “did not struggle, sacrifice, and lay down their lives, only to see us cede our fundamental freedoms, only to see us submit to the will of another petty tyrant.” “The United States of America is not a vessel for the schemes of wannabe dictators. The United States of America is the greatest idea humanity ever devised,” Harris said. The crowds were straight out of Donald Trump’s fondest memories, the kind of crowd he couldn’t garner this year to save his life. Trumps’s rally at the Madison Square Garden drew a crowd of around 19,500, so maybe he drew a third of Harris’ crowd at his Nazi rally. You know how Trump always lies about the 50,000 people outside his venues? That might actually be true for Harris in this case. Remember, this is the OVERFLOW. Harris spoke about Trump’s inability to campaign for anyone but himself, how he aims to divide the country and his impulse to turn every single detractor into the enemy. Unlike Trump’s airing of grievances and never-ending stream of weird or offensive lies, Harris actually showed up with real issues. “Donald Trump will walk into that office with an enemies list,” she said. “I will walk in with a to-do list.” She spoke of lowering the cost of child care, making home ownership possible for more people, ending gun violence and allowing Medicare to cover the cost of home care. Harris promised to sign the bipartisan border bill into law – which got a tepid response from the crowd but is good politics and, quite possibly, good policy. But she followed that up with a full defense of immigrants to a much more enthusiastic audience response. “We have to stop pointing fingers and start locking arms. It is time to turn the page on the drama and the conflict, the fear and division. It is time for a new generation in America, and I am ready to offer that leadership as the next president of the United States of America,” Harris said. Her speech touched on several issues she’s focused on over the course of her short three-month campaign, including health care, reproductive rights and the economy.She promised to restore federal abortion rights. Harris attacked Trump for his disrespect of our men and women in uniform. “I will always honor, never denigrate, the service and sacrifice of our troops and their families and fulfill our sacred obligation to care for them,” she said. “I will strengthen, not surrender, America’s global leadership. I will stand with our friends because I know our alliances keep Americans safe.” She said that Trump offers “more chaos” which is a theme, I would love to see stressed even more. People are tired of the Trump circus, even many of his supporters. I suspect that promising some calm in the White House is a winner. She contrasted with Trump’s promises to jail his critics and opponents, offering to be a“President for all Americans”. “I will always put country over party and self” she said. “I love my country with all my heart, and I believe in its promise.” She compared America’s fight for freedom against a petty tyrant to the current fight to prevent another petty tyrant from taking power. I loved this:She compared America’s fight for freedom against a petty tyrant to the current fight to prevent another petty tyrant from taking power. I loved this: Unlike Trump’s closing statement at Madison Square Garden, she kept things short and sweet. No one left early. No one was insulted. At the ellipse, Harris relayed Trump’s remarks about “the enemy within” — a suggestion that he would go after his political rivals if elected. “What Donald Trump has never understood is that ‘E pluribus unum,’ out of many one, isn’t just a phrase on a dollar bill. It is a living truth about the heart of our nation. Our democracy, it doesn’t require us to agree on anything,” she added. “And the fact that someone disagrees with us does not make them the enemy within.” And in the end, she made people feel good about supporting her, about heading out to do all the GOTV work we need to do to bring this one home. She’s kind, hopeful, unifying, composed, and coherent.
I feel good about next Tuesday. Let’s close strong!
