Vice President Kamala Harris worked to balance two central messages in her closing argument to voters Tuesday evening: The first is that former President Donald Trump poses a real danger to the country if he is returned to office, and the second is that Harris represents a new chapter of American leadership.
“On day one, if elected, Donald Trump would walk into that office with an enemy’s list,” Harris said to a crowd of roughly 60,000 supporters on and around the Ellipse lawn in Washington, framed by a view of the White House. “When elected, I will walk in with a to-do list.”
The Ellipse is also infamous as the site of Stop the Steal rally on January 6, 2021.There, Trump called on his most loyal supporters to “fight,” shortly before they violently attacked the Capitol.
And while Harris used that symbol to occasionally mention what she sees as Trump’s threat to American democracy, she spent a large chunk of her speech summarizing her own policy platform.
Just a week out from Election Day, the speech was one of Harris’ final efforts to win voters over on her candidacy and turn the election into a referendum on the Trump era of American politics, which she described as a decade of chaos.
“It is time to turn the page on the drama and the conflict, the fear and division. It is time for a new generation of leadership in America,” she said.
“I know that many of you are still getting to know who I am,” Harris added, before listing various planks of her policy platform.
She highlighted specific proposals aimed at lowering the cost of living, strengthening the middle class and raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy.
“I recognize this has not been a typical campaign,” the vice president said, nodding to the historic past several months, during which Trump was nearly assassinated and President Joe Biden abruptly ended his reelection bid and endorsed Harris to lead the Democratic ticket.
Ahead of Tuesday’s keynote address, Harris sat for five local news interviews Tuesday targeting voters across the battlegrounds in places like Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.
Both Harris and Trump are vying to convince voters that they would be a departure from the status quo, as polls regularly find respondents dissatisfied with the direction of the country.
In turn, Harris has worked to paint herself as the non-incumbent candidate who represents a new generation of American leadership — though that is a delicate balance given her current role in the Biden administration.
“I have been honored to serve as Joe Biden’s vice president,” Harris said Tuesday night. “But I will bring my own experiences and ideas to the Oval Office. My presidency will be different.”
Meanwhile, Trump has tried to remind voters of her position as second-in-command in the current administration, capitalizing on a general mood of discontent, especially on issues like the economy and the border.
Trump also delivered remarks Tuesday, which his campaign billed as his final message to voters.
In the three months since Harris took over Biden’s well established campaign operation, she has significantly eroded Trump’s polling advantage. She has also raised more than $1 billion, a jaw-dropping feat at this stage in the election cycle.
Harris has also capitalized on some key endorsements from superstars like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, along with Republicans who crossed the aisle to support her. Most visibly, former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney.
Despite the polling gains and her cash advantage, the presidential race remains a dead heat going into its final week, with polling consistently rating the candidates as tied within key battleground states and nationally.