Newyork, 30 Oct : Kamala Harris admitted she is not perfect but labelled Donald Trump “a petty tyrant” at a rally delivered at the spot where he “sent an armed mob” to storm the Capitol.Ms Harris used the powerful backdrop of the White House to warn of the danger of voters returning Trump to power in seven days’ time.
A huge crowd of 75,000 roared their support for the vice president as she branded Trump a “wannabe dictator” and an “easy mark” for Vladimir Putin. She said her rival was “unstable” and “obsessed with revenge” who was motivated by a desire for “unchecked power”.
The site of the speech in Washington DC was chosen deliberately to contrast Ms Harris’s assurance she wished to unite the country with Trump’s politics of “division, chaos and mutual distrust”.
JD Vance, Trump’s vice presidential candidate, denounced the speech, describing it as “such a disgrace”.
In what was described as “the closing argument” just a week out from the election, Ms Harris made an appeal to wavering Republicans concerned by Trump’s role in the January 6 riots to switch sides.
Ms Harris’ team had said in advance of the speech the choice of venue had been chosen to create a “stark visualisation” of the choice the nation faces on election day.
Ms Harris likened Trump to George III, the British king who suffered from a severe mental illness and is widely derided as “mad”, and from whom America gained its freedom in the War of Independence.
Ms Harris told the rally: “Nearly 250 years ago, America was born when we wrested freedom from a petty tyrant. Across the generations, Americans have preserved that freedom.”
Highlighting Americans who fought for their freedom on the beaches of Normandy in the Second World War, for racial equality in the civil rights movement and for LGBT rights with the Stonewall marches, she said: “They did not struggle, sacrifice and lay down their lives only to see us cede our fundamental freedoms. They didn’t do that only to see us submit to the will of another petty tyrant.”
In a further thinly veiled attack on Trump, she continued: “We are not a vessel for the schemes of wannabe dictators” before going on to describe America as “the greatest idea humanity ever devised”.
In a rousing finale to a speech designed for a television audience as well as the huge crowds stretching from the Ellipse to the Washington Monument, she declared: “Let us fight for this beautiful country we love. And in seven days, we have the power to turn the page, and start writing the next chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.”
She accepted her faults but used them to again draw a distinction with Trump, telling the crowd: “I’ll be honest with you: I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. But here’s what I promise you: I will always listen to you, even if you don’t vote for me. I will always tell you the truth, even if it’s hard to hear.”
Ms Harris told the crowd that the November 5 ballot was “the most important vote you ever cast”, adding: “This election is more than a choice between two parties and two different candidates.It is a choice about whether we have a country rooted in freedom for every American, or one ruled by chaos and division.
“This is not a candidate for President who is thinking about how to make your life better. This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and out for unchecked power.”
Ms Harris launched a series of attacks on the former president, claiming Trump represents a threat to national security who would be easily manipulated by foreign dictators.
“Trump is an easy mark,” she said. “Easy to manipulate with flattery or favours, and you can believe that autocrats like Putin and Kim Jong Un [the North Korean leader] are rooting for him in this election.”
Offering an olive branch to Republican voters, she said she will “work with everyone: Democrats, Republicans and independents” and asserted that she welcomed the support of Republicans “who have never voted for a Democrat before” but have “put the constitution of the United States over party”.
Her comments follow the defection of a number of high-profile Republicans including former congresswoman Liz Cheney who joined Ms Harris on the campaign trail.
The vice president also attempted to again distance herself from Joe Biden, characterising herself as “a new generation”.
She said: “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 of leadership in America.”
The Democratic candidate has struggled in the past to draw a clear distinction between her and the incumbent president, previously saying “there is nothing that comes to mind” when asked what she would have done differently.
Instead on Tuesday she said it had been an “honour” to serve in his administration, but that her presidency will be different.
”I will bring my own experiences and ideas to the Oval Office. My presidency will be different because the challenges we face are different,” she said.
Casting herself as someone who understands the concerns of ordinary people, Ms Harris said she is “someone who has spent most of my career outside of Washington, so I know that not all good ideas come from here”.
She described herself as a “child of the civil rights movement” and recalled her memories of her mother managing bills to empathise with voters “who are facing even greater financial pressures”.
With her plans for economic support for the middle class, she drew a sharp distinction with Trump, who she said would introduce “another trillion dollars in tax cuts for billionaires”.
She also drew cheers from the crowd when she trumpeted her core messages on bringing down healthcare costs, clamping down on price gouging and reinforcing reproductive rights, telling voters she would “proudly” sign into law the federal right to an abortion.
“One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to simply agree that government should not be telling women what do with their bodies,” she said.
Ms Harris also talked tough about ensuring America has the “strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world”. She contrasted this stance with Trump, who has called soldiers “suckers” and “losers”, and was recently accused of showing sympathy for the Nazis by former marine John Kelly.
“I will always honour – never denigrate – the service and sacrifice of our troops and their families. And fulfil our sacred obligation to care for them.” Ms Harris said.
The vice president also struck a conciliatory tone on border policy, pledging to “quickly remove” illegal migrants and to “give border patrol officers “the support they so desperately need” while also passing progressive immigration reform.
“We must acknowledge we are a nation of immigrants,” she said, adding that there must be an “earned path to citizenship for hard-working immigrants like farmworkers and Dreamers” – the generation of undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children.
Despite the widespread approval Ms Harris received on stage, the speech was heckled by pro-Palestinian protesters who gathered outside the perimeter.
One protester managed to breach a police line to stand in front of a big screen and wave a Palestinian flag during Ms Harris’ speech.
The Vice President will deliver her final rally of the presidential campaign alongside Jennifer Lopez in Las Vegas on Thursday.
Defending Trump, his running mate JD Vance said: “Kamala Harris’s closing message is such a disgrace. You’re not a bad person for wanting the border secured. You’re not a bad person for wanting to be able to afford groceries when you go to the grocery store, and it’s disgraceful for a person who wants to lead the whole United States of America to say that people are Nazis or fascists or racist because they think that she’s doing a bad job.”
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