Kamala Harris mentions Trump 24 times in fired-up ‘closing’ plea to voters to put her in the White House

Kamala Harris delivered her closing argument to Americans on Thursday evening, standing in front of the White House to ask them to vote for her instead of rival Donald Trump, whom she called a “little tyrant.”

“This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with resentment and bent on unchecked power,” she said of Trump.

She talked about the Ellipse, a section of the National Mall with the White House as a backdrop.

Her speech was a plea to reach the small number of undecided voters who remain and voters who are unsure about voting on November 5. Polls show the presidential race is almost even with seven days to go.

Trump was the focus of her comments. She mentioned him 24 times. And she attacked the former president from the start, criticizing him for his response to the Jan. 6 insurrection.

She spoke from the same spot he did on January 6, 2021, when he encouraged his supporters to march on the Capitol to overturn the election results. The striking contrast in the images is what Harris’ campaign was going for, saying they deliberately chose the location.

“Donald Trump sat in the White House and watched the violence unfold on television,” Harris said.

“He was told by his staff that the mafia wanted to kill his own vice president and Donald Trump responded with two words: what then?”

“And that’s the one asking you to give him another four years in the Oval Office,” she added.

The evening was the grand, sweeping event her campaign had been longing for. There were about 75,000 people cheering on Harris — with a few Gaza protesters on the sidelines — and all cable networks carried her remarks.

In addition to attacking her rival, Harris also tackled the area where she is most politically vulnerable: border security. Trump and Republicans have repeatedly attacked her on the migration issue.

In her remarks, she promised to remove illegal migrants who have come into the country unlawfully if she becomes president.

“When I am president, we will quickly remove those who arrive here unlawfully, prosecute the cartels, and give Border Patrol the support they desperately need,” Harris said.

She reiterated her pledge to pass a border security bill that was defeated in Congress earlier this year after Trump encouraged Republicans to do so.

“I will work with Democrats and Republicans to pass the border security bill for the slain Donald Trump,” she said.

She also noted, “At the same time, we must recognize that we are a nation of immigrants. And I will work with Congress to pass immigration reform, including an earned path to citizenship for hardworking immigrants like farmworkers.”

Her campaign said Tuesday night’s speech would be Harris’ “closing argument” to voters.

The campaign pointed to her background as a prosecutor, pointing out that she has laid out the evidence and facts and was not yet ready to make her final pitch.

The central argument of that pitch is that she is not Donald Trump.

“I offer a different path. And I ask for your vote,” Harris said.

‘It is not my intention to score political points. I’m looking for progress. I promise to listen to experts, to those who will be affected by the decisions I make. And two people who disagree with me – unlike Donald Trump – I don’t believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I will give them a seat at the table,” she noted.

Harris called on the country to reject “the schemes of wannabe dictators” and “begin writing the next chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.”

“I promise to be a president for all Americans,” she promised.

Her comments were also some of her most personal.

‘I’m not perfect. I make mistakes, but this is 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 is hard to hear,” she said.

“Donald Trump would walk into that office with a list of enemies if he were elected, I will walk into that office with a list of things to do for the American people and I will work with all Democrats, Republicans and independents to help Americans who are working. hard and still struggling to move forward,” she said.

And she referenced her childhood as the daughter of immigrants, specifically referring to her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who migrated from India with the aim of curing breast cancer. Her mother died of colon cancer in 2009.

“I have lived the promise of America. I saw how hard our mother worked to give her daughters the same opportunities this country gave her. Growing up, I was blessed with family by blood and family by love, who instilled in me the values ​​of community, compassion and faith. They have always defined our nation at its best,” Harris said.

Security was tight during the outdoor event.

Metal fencing surrounded the entire area south of the White House as long lines formed and passed through the magnetometers.

Thick bulletproof glass lined the front and sides of where Harris would speak.

Helicopters buzzed overhead as the vice president’s arrival drew closer. Security was seen on the roof of nearby buildings.

Outbursts from pro-Palestinian protesters peppered her comments.

One protester held a handwritten sign, “Stop Arming Israel.” Just beyond the metal security gates, Palestinian flags could be seen — and a large Trump sign.