The memory of what happened and the warning of what might happen again. Kamala Harris delivered her final campaign speech from the Ellipse, the same point on the National Mall where on January 6, 2021, defeated Donald Trump shouted to his supporters: “If you don’t fight like demons, you will. will do. I no longer have a country. »
Then the agitated mass marched towards the Capitol to storm it. This Tuesday evening, one week before the elections, Harris called for the unity of the country to preserve the principle of freedom on which the United States was founded.
“Those who came before us […] They did not fight, sacrifice, or give their lives just to see us give up our basic freedoms. They didn’t do this just to see us submit to the will of another petty tyrant. “This United States is not a springboard for the projects of would-be dictators,” Harris defended to an exultant crowd waving American flags and holding signs with the acronym USA. According to the Democrat’s campaign, some 75,000 people gathered there this evening. Although the previous estimate was around 40,000.
By addressing the nation from the same place where Trump launched the assault on the Capitol, the Democrat sought to further widen the contrast between her words and those of the tycoon: “This is the person who was at the same place almost four years ago and sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election, which they knew they had lost – the Democrat recalled – It is time to stop pointing fingers and start uniting. It is time to turn the page on drama and conflict, on fear and division. “It’s time for a new generation of leaders in America. »
Without needing to use adjectives or accompany his name with qualifiers, Harris painted one of the darkest portraits of Trump to date. He is no longer the “egoist” who only thinks of himself, nor the “grandfather” whose delusions worry, as Barack Obama said in Tucson. Nor is he the criminal convicted before the prosecutor. This is the man who has a list of enemies for his return to power, the one who speaks of the “enemy within”, the one who witnessed the assault on the Capitol “from the White House” and when “the “the general staff informed him.” that the mob wanted to kill its own vice president. Trump responded with two words: “So what? »
In recent days, Harris had begun to attack Trump from the same point as Joe Biden before resigning from his candidacy: fear of his return. By starting to describe the tycoon as a “fascist”, instead of reducing him to an “egoist”, the Democrat took the risk of repeating the mistakes of her predecessor. But tonight, he was able to name Trump as a threat to democracy, without either his voice or his message being overshadowed. Rather, above the darkness, he tried to claim the future and hope.
“He’s not a presidential candidate thinking about how to improve his life. He is someone unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed by resentment and in search of uncontrolled power. Donald Trump spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other. That’s how he is. But, America, I am here tonight to say: This is not our identity. Harris did not present herself as the alternative candidate of those who do not want Trump in power, but as the candidate of those who want to build a new country that leaves behind the polarization that began with the emergence of the tycoon in policy.
When the Democrat uttered the ““We won’t go back.” (We will not go back) did it not as a campaign slogan, but with the desire to build a new movement around a much greater feat: that of choosing between moving forward as a democratic nation or falling into the clutches of a good future darker. While this is an idea Democrats have already championed throughout the campaign, it resonated much more forcefully tonight.
“In less than 90 days, either Donald Trump or I will be in the Oval Office. From day one, if elected, Donald Trump will enter office with a list of enemies. When I am elected, I will arrive with a list of things to do. Full of priorities on what I will achieve for the American people,” Harris said. Although he began his speech focusing on Trump, he also emphasized the type of plan he has for the country. The Democrat is aware that many voters still have the feeling of not knowing her well enough and, once again, she has put her economic and border project on the table.
“When I am president, we will quickly deport those who arrive here illegally, we will prosecute the cartels and we will give the Border Patrol the support they so badly need,” Harris said of immigration issues. This promise to “quickly” remove migrants who cross the border illegally once again confirms the shift toward heavy hand that Democrats have taken in recent years. Trump, without being in the White House, was able to continue to set the agenda on the issue of immigration. In fact, what Harris promised is already being implemented: the executive order Biden signed in June accelerated evictions to windows of less than 24 hours.
The hardening of positions in Harris’ candidacy, which reflects her desire to occupy a political center to reach undecideds and Republicans unhappy with Trump, could also be seen in other statements such as: “As commander in chief , I will ensure “that the United States will always have the most powerful and lethal fighting force in the world. » The sentence is not new, it was uttered for the first time in Chicago, but it is still surprising that it comes from the mouth of a Democratic candidate and reflects the evolution of the American political framework in recent years. years.
After becoming the generational replacement that the Democratic Party needed, Harris presented herself as the generational replacement that the United States needs: “I am committed to listening: to the experts, to those who will be affected by the decisions that I take and people who disagree with me. Unlike Trump, I don’t think those who disagree with me are enemies. He wants to put them in prison. I will give them a place at the table.
The image that Harris wants to highlight one week before the elections is that of a strong leader, capable of leading a transition to a country that leaves behind divisions that now seem almost irreconcilable. National polls continue to show a very close fight, with 48.1% for Harris and 46.7% for Trump, according to aggregator Fivethirtyeight.
