Where are the politics of joy? Kamala Harris’ somber but solid closing argument for why she should be elected president of the United States wasn’t about Kamala Harris. It was first and foremost about Donald Trump.
In the Democratic candidates’ big speeches in Washington, Trump’s name was mentioned 24 times, compared to Joe Biden’s only once. It confirmed that even if Trump is not commander in chief, he still commands the American spirit.
A week before Election Day, Harris carefully selected her venue. It was the Ellipse, a park just south of the White House. Trump “was standing in this exact spot nearly four years ago,” she noted, adding that he sent an armed mob into the U.S. Capitol to overturn his 2020 election loss.
A very different, more diverse and larger crowd (estimated at 75,000) will be here on Tuesday, bracing themselves for the evening chill and unseasonably warm afternoon heat. was bathed in They waved “USA” signs and American flags and wore glowing blue and red wristbands. They shouted “Kamala!” Kamala! ” and “We’re not going back!” They were surrounded by great symbols of the republic: the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, and the White House itself.
Speaking from a podium behind protective glass, Harris warned about Trump’s list of enemies and his intention to direct the military against people who disagree with him. “This is not a presidential candidate who is thinking about how to make his life better,” she said. “This is a man who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, obsessed with grievances, and seeking unchecked power.”
The vice president went on to sketch his career as a prosecutor and law enforcement officer who fought for the people. But somehow, the discussion kept coming back to the Republican candidates. “If elected, Donald Trump will walk into the Oval Office on his first day with a list of his enemies,” she said. “If I am elected, I will come to work with a to-do list.”
It was a far cry from the early days of Ms. Harris’ candidacy, which began with jubilant euphoria and her running mate, Tim Walz, labeling Trump and his allies as “weirdos.” It felt like a refreshing tonic after years of Trump-era anxiety and misery. At the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, speaker after speaker mocked Trump and made him look small (Barack Obama even parodied his manhood).
Notably, Harris has since taken a more serious tone about the threat she poses, and in recent weeks has seen former Trump officials use the word “fascist” to emphasize authoritarian ambitions. I accepted it, but I didn’t expand on the word here. His Sunday rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden and the echoes of a pro-Nazi rally there in 1939 provided further material.
This choice has a political logic. Make the election a referendum on Trump, not Harris. It makes him look like an incumbent and Harris like an agent of change. “It’s time to turn the page on drama and conflict, fear and division,” she said. “The time has come for America to need a new generation of leadership.”
That would explain why she is trying to distance herself from Biden and ignoring his offers to campaign on her behalf. Her Tuesday rally in Washington was typical of Biden in its dire warnings about Trump’s threat, although the president’s preferred word “democracy” was used only once. Instead, the word “Liberty” along with “America” was spelled out on three giant blue flags.
Some Democrats want Ms. Harris to distance herself from Mr. Biden on the Gaza war issue. Protesters were led away shouting, “Stop giving arms to Israel!” Arms embargo now! ”However, Harris did not make any moves against the peace movement during her remarks.
Biden had previously touted job growth and good economic news, but Harris again offered some realistic promises: tax cuts for workers and the middle class, and the first-ever federal food package. These include a ban on drug gouging, a cap on insulin prices, and support measures. For first-time home buyers.
These were important things to get votes for. But they were not accompanied by a grand vision. Mario Cuomo’s old adage was “Electing in poetry, governing in prose,” but Harris’ speech lacked much lofty rhetoric. The decade of the Trump administration has been bad for the soul.
But the vice president ended with an unforgettable video showing how America regained its freedom from a petty tyrant (British monarch George III) for nearly 250 years, and how generations of Americans He recalled how he continued to protect that freedom. “They did not fight, sacrifice and give their lives just to see us give up our basic freedoms and submit to the will of another vile tyrant.” she said. “The United States is not a vessel for a would-be dictator’s conspiracy.”
And the axis shifts from fear to hope. “The United States of America is the greatest idea ever devised by mankind. A country big enough to embrace all our dreams. Big enough to withstand any fracture or rift between us. There’s strength. And there’s not enough fear to imagine a possible future.”
Doug Emhoff joined Harris on stage with a hug and kiss as the audience cheered. Next Tuesday, they will return to Washington for the most painful presidential election since George W. Bush vs. Al Gore in 2000. They will be hoping the Democratic vice president will do better than Mr. Gore. Tight margins of a few thousand votes in one or two battleground states may decide whether Harris’ closing argument looks like a piece of strategic genius or a catastrophic miscalculation.
She told the audience: “Donald Trump has spent 10 years trying to keep Americans divided and afraid of each other. That’s who he is. But America, I’m here tonight to say, ‘That’s not who we are. “and.
The phrase “this is not who we are” has been popular in the Trump era. Sometimes the evidence shows otherwise. Next week, the nation will know who we are.
