Harris reminds voters of January 6 attack in 'closing argument'

WASHINGTON – With the White House as your backdrop, Vice President Kamala Harris will remind Americans on Tuesday that it was the last time Donald Trump After he took office, thousands of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn his election loss.

Harris will deliver her speech Tuesday evening at the same location where Trump spoke just before the Jan. 6 insurrection — at the Ellipse, a park that separates the White House from the National Mall.

“It’s a place that we certainly believe will help crystallize the choice in this election between a candidate who looks for unchecked power in Donald Trump and another who actually offers real solutions to chart a new path forward ,” Harris campaign chairman Jen O’Malley Dillon told reporters in a preview of Harris’ remarks.

O’Malley Dillon said the setting will provide a “stark visualization of probably the most infamous example of Donald Trump, and how he has used his power for evil, really focusing on himself and spreading division and chaos and inciting a mob to try to maintain his own power and to place himself in power.” country.”

With exactly one week until the election, the race is one statistical equality and has adopted one darker tone in his last days. The candidates are in a dead heat in almost every swing state, and both campaigns have tried to break through to voters by throwing big splashy events.

Harris campaigned this weekend for Michelle Obama, who launched a sharp criticism of the former president. Trump is reeling from the backlash to his own ‘closing argument’ at Madison Square Garden on Sunday it was overshadowed by racist tropes − including bipartisan condemnation of a comment about Puerto Rico by a comedian who opened the meeting.

In what the campaign describes as her closing argument, Harris will tell voters there are two paths on Election Day: one focused on results for the American people and the other steeped in grievance and retaliation, officials said.

They expect as many as 20,000 people at the address, where Harris will renew her promise to voters that she would put country before the Democratic Party, and herself, while arguing that Trump would. compile an “enemies list.” of anyone who opposes him.

She will also talk about her plans to lower the costs of housing, groceries and health care, campaign officials said.

After being catapulted to the top of the Democratic ticket this summer, Harris spent much of her time reintroducing herself to voters and releasing policy proposals that she will outline again during her speech.

She has also argued that Trump would limit access to reproductive rights. Women’s health was the topic of a meeting on Friday evening held in Houston with Beyoncé. That speech was her biggest yet; According to her campaign, it attracted 30,000 people.

Harris was in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Monday and is preparing to destroy all the major battlegrounds this week.

She has chosen in recent weeks to characterize Trump as a “fascist” who would be a danger to the nation after his presidency. Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said Trump “falls into the common definition” of one. During a town hall on CNN, Harris agreed with that assessment.

Trump at a rally in Atlanta said Monday that Harris’ comments are “so disgusting, just horrible” and called Harris a fascist.

“This is the kind of outrageous rhetoric that has resulted in two assassination attempts in the last three months,” Trump said.

Harris targets anti-Trump Republicans

Some Harris surrogates have refused to label Trump a fascist and have focused on abortion rights and the economy in the final days of the campaign. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker highlighted both issues during an election campaign in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last weekend, as Harris volunteers prepared to knock on voters’ doors.

“Let me start by saying that everything we care about is under siege by a racist, misogynist, homophobic and xenophobic former president who wants to be back in the White House,” Pritzker said.

Minutes later he told them, “I think – this is just my opinion – talking about democracy is not something that is really on most people’s minds in this election.” He added, “I think most people are thinking about what this is going to do to my wallet, to my future, to my ability to pay the bills, to my ability to get a better job.”

Waukesha is one of the deep red counties near Milwaukee where the Harris campaign is desperately trying to activate anti-Trump Republicans. Harris campaigned there with former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney last week. Walz held an event there Monday with the city’s mayor, Shawn Reilly, a lifelong Republican who became an independent after Jan. 6 and recently threw his support behind Harris.

Nearly 60% of the county voted for Trump in 2020, compared to 39% for Biden.

Trump MSG meeting overshadowed by racist comments from Tony Hinchcliffe

Thousands of Trump supporters came to Madison Square Garden. Speakers, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and Tucker Carlson, made racist comments.

Harris’ campaign is betting it could erode Trump’s margins there and in other battleground suburban areas, with continued reports of the support he has lost from members of his own administration and the role he has played in appointing judges. the Supreme Court who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Suburban women, independents and moderate Republicans are among the people Harris will target in the speech, O’Malley Dillon said. She said those voters withdrew from the Republican Party for the first time in the 2022 midterm elections over the abortion issue.

“They’re people who are probably more affected, who are paying attention to what’s happening, and they’re just weighing information,” O’Malley Dillon said. “And I think by and large these are the people we’ve been talking to all along.”

O’Malley Dillon said Harris will also appeal to undecided voters, some of whom may be open to supporting a new candidate after Trump’s closing rally at Madison Square Garden, which was marked by racist comments. She also said that there is a whole group of young people who have not paid attention to the elections until now.

Protect democracy,’ then we can tackle the other issues‘

Some voters across the country are increasingly concerned about the state of democracy, now considering it one of their top issues just a week after the Nov. 5 election.

Colleen Schulz, the vice chair of the Waukesha County Democratic Party, said protecting our democracy and standing up for the Constitution has become her top priority heading into the election.

The 61-year-old said access to abortion and women’s health care, as well as the environment, were her top issues, but they have now taken a back seat to standing up for democracy.

“We have to protect our democracy and the Constitution first, and then we can deal with the other issues,” said Schulz, a former teacher, who attended an event with Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, in Waukesha . “The first fire to put out is standing up for our Constitution.”

Although the economy remains the most important issue for voters, found a Gallup poll that 49% of voters said democracy in the United States is “extremely” important and another 36% said it was “very” important in how it will affect who they vote for in the election.

Angela Mercadel, who stood for more than three hours to visit Harris in Houston, Texas, said she is very alarmed by Trump’s message about the “enemy within” and that he will go after his political opponents.

“We need someone to bring this country together,” she said.