close
close
WATCH LIVE: Harris makes “closing arguments” for her campaign in speech at the Ellipse in Washington

WATCH LIVE: Harris makes “closing arguments” for her campaign in speech at the Ellipse in Washington

5 minutes, 41 seconds Read

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris will promise to “put country above party and above self” in the closing argument of her presidential campaign on Tuesday, hoping to do so at the same spot where Donald Trump incited the Capitol insurrection , which it provides a stark illustration of the choice facing voters.

Harris is scheduled to deliver her speech at the Ellipse at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Watch it in the player above.

A week before Election Day, the vice president was expected to use her 7:30 p.m. ET address from the grassy Ellipse near the White House to promise Americans that she will work to improve their lives, while also arguing that her Republican opponent is only there for himself.

Trump “has spent a decade dividing the American people and making them afraid of each other: That's who he is,” Harris will say, according to prepared remarks released by her campaign. “But America, I’m here tonight to say: This is not who we are.”

REGARD: Trump says his rally in New York, marked by crude and racist insults, was “like a love fest.”

She hoped to sharpen that contrast by delivering her closing speech at the site where Trump spread falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election on January 6, 2021, inspiring a crowd to march on the Capitol and unsuccessfully attempt to certify the election Democrats prevent Joe Biden from winning.

With time running out and the race getting tight, Harris and Trump are both looking for big moments to try to swing the momentum their way.

“It's a site that we certainly believe helps clarify the decision in this election,” Harris campaign chairwoman Jen O'Malley Dillon said of the scene, calling it “a clear illustration of probably the most infamous example.” by Donald Trump and how he has used it. “Power for evil.”

Campaign aides stressed that Harris will not deliver a treatise on democracy – a cornerstone of President Joe Biden's own attempts to contrast with Trump – or spend too much time focusing directly on the shocking images of that day. Harris aides said the vice president wanted to provide a fuller rationale for why voters should reject Trump and consider what she offers.

REGARD: How Trump's rhetoric compares to historical fascist language

“He has an enemies list of people he wants to prosecute,” Harris is quoted as saying. “He says one of his top priorities is the release of the violent extremists who attacked those police officers on January 6th. Donald Trump intends to use the US military against American citizens who simply disagree with him. He calls people “the enemy from within.” This is not a presidential candidate thinking about how to improve his life.”

Her campaign hoped to draw a large crowd to Washington for the event. But more importantly, her campaign hopes the framework will help capture the attention of voters in battleground states who are still unsure about who to vote for — or whether to vote at all.

The address comes days after Harris traveled to Texas, a reliably Republican state, to perform with megastar Beyoncé and highlight the consequences for women following the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade fell. This, too, was a speech designed to appeal to voters far away in battleground states.

The vice president's latest address has been in the works for weeks. But aides hoped their message would have a greater impact after Trump's rally on Sunday at Madison Square Garden in New York, where speakers uttered cruel and racist slurs. Harris said the event “highlighted the point I have made throughout this campaign.”

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

Harris was expected to use her speech to lay out a pragmatic and forward-looking plan for the country, including reminding voters of her economic proposals and pledging to support access to reproductive care, including abortion.

READ MORE: Speaker Johnson appears to confirm a “secret” election plan with Trump

“Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy,” Harris is quoted as saying. “He wants to put her in prison. I give them a seat at my table. And I promise to be a president for all Americans. To always put the country above the party and above yourself.”

Also central to her message: She positions herself as a “new generation” of leaders after Trump and even her current boss Biden. She will “talk about what her new generation of leadership really means, keeping the American people and their concerns at the center,” said O'Malley Dillon.

Of Trump, Harris said Monday: “People are literally ready to turn the page. They're tired of it.”

Ahead of Harris' speech, Trump used remarks to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Tuesday morning to accuse Harris of closing with a message that doesn't address Americans' everyday problems and kitchen table concerns.

He said Harris keeps “talking about Hitler and the Nazis because their record is terrible,” reinforcing his former chief of staff's warnings that Trump spoke admiringly of the Nazi leader during his time in office.

Harris' advisers, many of whom also advised Biden's campaign before he dropped out, still believe that focusing the race on who Trump is and how different she is will be her strongest message to voters.

“She has already made her case, she has presented the evidence. She presents a summary tonight and trusts the wisdom of the jury,” said Michael Tyler, the campaign’s communications director.

Biden told reporters on Tuesday that he would not attend Harris' speech because the event was “for her” but that he planned to watch her on television.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said it was important for battleground voters to be reminded of the consequences of their vote this fall and that Harris “really drives home the stakes of this election and the stark contrast in the race.” “.

He said Harris has the stronger argument on economic policy, reproductive freedom and the question of chaos vs. order, adding that she has “a vision that will bring more order, more hope and more joy.”

Ruth Chiari, 78, of Charlottesville, Virginia, attended the rally with her husband to “support democracy.”

“I think everyone understands what’s on the ballot,” she said as she waited in line at the Treasury Department to enter the event. “We will either have an autocrat or freedom.”

Harris spent the day before her speech taping television interviews that aired in Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, as well as Spanish-language radio shows in Pennsylvania, her campaign said.

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.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *