The voice was poised, the setting solemn, the crowd impressive. With the presidential election just a week away, Kamala Harris delivered her final plea on Tuesday, October 29, in the heart of the capital, calling on Americans to write “the next chapter” in the nation’s history. Behind her back, the lights of the White House shimmered. Facing her were tens of thousands of people and the majestic obelisk of the Washington Monument.
It was from an identical podium on this Ellipse lawn that Donald Trump had spouted the lies about electoral fraud to his supporters on January 6, 2021, calling on them to demonstrate on Capitol Hill. In itself, the location chosen on Tuesday was a message, conveying the dramatic stakes of the upcoming election.
“Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other. That’s who he is,” noted Harris. “But America, I am here tonight to say, That’s not who we are.” The balance of the speech itself was revealing. A key mobilizing issue on the left, abortion, was addressed, but only briefly. The plans and hate speech of the “petty tyrant” Trump were denounced, but Harris didn’t lock herself into the restrictive role of public accuser, which would have prolonged the confusing mix of styles that wearies the general public.
Weighting guarantees
The vice president endeavored to present a patriotic ode to America and to articulate a promise, that of a calmer public debate. “Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I’ll give them a seat at my table.” This was a nod to the Republicans who worked alongside her in the campaign, such as former Wyoming representative Liz Cheney. Joe Biden, too, had promised national reconciliation in 2020 if he won, but it never came.
Since her in-control TV debate opposite Trump on September 10, Harris has seemed to vacillate between several incarnations: the “joyful warrior” and optimist, the defender of reproductive rights, the dark harbinger of a new Trumpist era. This speech at the Ellipse represented a successful synthesis of these incarnations, aimed above all at undecided voters, moderate conservatives with a tested conscience. Harris sought to give them pledges of level-headedness, contrasting purposely with the tone of Trump, two days earlier, at Madison Square Garden, in New York. Harris described her rival as “someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power.”
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