Harris: Turn the page on Trump ‘chaos’
WASHINGTON—Kamala Harris urged Americans to write the “next chapter” for their country and reject Donald Trump’s chaos and division as she delivered a powerful closing argument to voters Tuesday against the glowing backdrop of the White House.
The Democratic vice president warned against Trump’s lust for “unchecked power” as she addressed a mass rally at the site where her Republican rival riled up a mob before the deadly Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol.
“This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power,” she said in the speech, exactly a week before Americans go to the polls in the most dramatic and divisive election of modern times.
But Harris then pivoted to an optimistic vision of the United States’ future, using the setting of the White House lit up against the night behind her as a symbolic pitch to show that she is ready for the presidency.
“America, I am here tonight to say: that’s not who we are,” Harris told the huge crowd of flag-waving supporters.
“Each of you has the power to turn the page, and start writing the next chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.”
Harris’ campaign claimed 75,000 people attended the rally. The number could not be immediately verified, but the crowd was unusually large in an election that has seen heavy enthusiasm on both sides.
Lead erodes
A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed that Harris’ lead had eroded to just 44 percent to 43 percent among registered voters.
Harris has led Trump in every Reuters/Ipsos poll since she entered the race in July, but her advantage has steadily shrunk since late September. Trump and his allies have sought to play down the violence of Jan. 6.
In Florida earlier in the day, Trump sought to move on from the racist and other vulgar remarks made by allies at his New York rally on Sunday.
Trump did not comment on the remarks made by speakers at the Sunday event where comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and disparaged Black Americans, Jewish people, Palestinians and Latinos.
Trump’s campaign had said previously that the comments about Puerto Rico did not reflect the former president’s views, but Trump on Tuesday called the New York event “an absolute lovefest” and said he was honored to be involved.
President Joe Biden drew ire from Trump’s campaign for remarks he made about the Sunday rally during a fundraising call on Tuesday.
According to a transcript posted by a White House spokesperson on X, Biden said: “the only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s – his – his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and it’s un-American.”
Several news organizations cited the same quote but without the apostrophe.
Biden later posted on X, the social media site: “Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage – which is the only word I can think of to describe it. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.”
Hispanic voters
As Harris spoke in Washington, Trump visited a heavily Hispanic city in Pennsylvania.
“I’d like to begin with a very, very simple question: Are you better off now than you were four years ago? I’m here today with a message of hope for all Americans,” Trump said.
Harris and Trump diverge on support for Ukraine and Nato, abortion rights, taxes, basic democratic principles and tariffs that could trigger trade wars. —REPORTS FROM AFP, REUTERS
