A to-do list, size matters and a ‘petty tyrant“: Key moments from Kamala Harris’ speech

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris connected Tuesday sought to punctual Americans what life was for illustration nether Donald Trump and past offered voters a different way guardant if they nonstop her to nan White House, successful a reside billed arsenic her campaign’s closing argument.

“I will ever perceive to you, moreover if you don’t ballot for me,” she said, speaking earlier a monolithic crowd that spilled from nan grassy Ellipse adjacent nan White House to nan Washington Monument.

Some cardinal moments from her half-hour speech:

The location of nan reside reinforced her connection

Harris chose to speak from nan Ellipse connected purpose. It’s nan aforesaid spot successful Washington wherever Republican Donald Trump helped incite a mob that attacked nan U.S. Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021. But nan vice president didn’t give overmuch of her reside to nan unit of that day, alternatively utilizing nan section betwixt Constitution Avenue and nan White House much arsenic a backdrop — a quiet reminder of nan different choices Americans face.

“Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to support nan American group divided and acrophobic of each other,” she said, adding that he wants backmost into nan White House “not to attraction connected your problems, but to attraction connected his.”

Kamala Harris, nan prosecutor, based on her lawsuit

Harris spent years moving arsenic a prosecutor. She was California’s lawyer wide earlier she became a U.S. senator. And she often says connected nan run way that she’s only ever had 1 customer — nan people. In her speech, she talked astir her past activity taking connected scammers, convulsive offenders who abused women and children, and cartels that trafficked successful guns and quality beings.

She said she’d bring pinch her to nan White House an small heart to protect.

“There’s thing astir group being treated unfairly, aliases overlooked, that conscionable gets to me,” she said.

It’s me, Hi. I’m nan statesmanlike nominee. It’s me.

One week earlier nan election, Harris allowed that “I cognize galore of you are still getting to cognize who I am.”

The Democratic nominee has been moving for only 3 months successful a compressed run launched aft President Joe Biden dropped retired of nan race. Harris still is confronting voters who say they want to study much about her and really she will govern. So she spent immoderate clip Tuesday talking astir her career, her goals and background.

“I’ll beryllium honorable pinch you: I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. But here’s what I committedness you: I will ever perceive to you, moreover if you don’t ballot for me.”

To-do database for Day One astatine nan White House

Harris devoted a bully chunk of her reside to talking astir policies she’d enact if she were to triumph nan White House, including helping first-time homeowners pinch down payments and aiding nan alleged “sandwich generation” of adults who are caring for young children and older parents by allowing elder attraction to beryllium funded by Medicare. She said she’d activity to walk a bipartisan separator information measure that tanked past twelvemonth aft Trump encouraged legislature Republicans to fto it die.

And she said she would activity to bring backmost abortion protections. “I will conflict to reconstruct what Donald Trump and his hand-selected Supreme Court justness took distant from nan women of America,” Harris said. The Supreme Court, pinch 3 Trump-appointed justices, overturned national protections of abortion successful 2022. Abortion has since go 1 of nan astir motivating issues for nan Democratic guidelines successful nan 2024 election.

“On Day One, if elected, Donald Trump would locomotion into that agency pinch an enemies list,” she said. “When elected, I will locomotion successful pinch a to-do list.”

Size matters connected nan run way — particularly to Trump

The Ellipse is simply a grassy expanse betwixt nan White House and nan Washington Monument that has agelong played big to governmental events and nationalist traditions for illustration nan yearly vacation character lighting. On Tuesday, nan abstraction was packed. Crowds spilled onto nan National Mall backmost toward nan Washington Monument, wherever elephantine screens and speakers were group up for group to perceive and spot from afar.

The cheers of nan boisterous crowd could beryllium heard from nan White House driveway. Harris’ run said it was her biggest rally to date. She’s already packed stadiums and different venues pinch supporters during her rallies. Harris loves to needle Trump astir crowd size — a peculiar preoccupation for nan Republican leader, who claimed nan run had to autobus group successful Tuesday to capable nan space.

Harris has called Trump ‘unhinged’ and ‘unstable.’ Now she’s adding ‘petty tyrant’

Harris boiled down disapproval of Trump into 2 words: “petty tyrant.”

She warned Trump is simply a man governed by grievances, 1 who would attraction connected himself and his “enemies list” erstwhile he sewage into nan White House. She harked backmost to nan nation’s founding erstwhile Americans fought for freedom, past sped done decades of hard-fought civilian authorities battles.

“They did not struggle, sacrifice and laic down their lives only to spot america cede our basal freedoms. They didn’t do that only to spot america taxable to nan will of different petty tyrant,” she said. “These United States of America, we are not a alloy for nan schemes of wannabe dictators.”

Meanwhile, a Biden complication emerges

Just moments earlier Harris was to speak, Biden was connected a run telephone reacting to a comic who called Puerto Rico garbage during a Trump rally past weekend. The president said, “The only garbage I spot floating retired location is his supporters.”

He’d joined a nationalist telephone organized by nan defense group Voto Latino. Biden urged those connected nan telephone to “vote to support Donald Trump retired of nan White House,” adding, “He’s a existent threat to not conscionable Latinos but to each people.”

Biden’s remarks were quicky seized connected by Republicans who said he was denigrating Trump supporters, a distraction for Harris erstwhile she is trying to scope retired to GOP voters.

Biden quickly sent retired a societal media station seeking to explain his remarks.

“His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable,” Biden said of Trump. “That’s each I meant to say.”

There’s still plentifulness to travel aft what Harris called her ‘closing argument’

The arena was framed arsenic a run finale meant to laic retired successful stark position nan prime for voters adjacent week. But it’s acold from Harris’ past run event. She’ll beryllium hitting each nan cardinal battleground states arsenic she makes her past transportation to voters.

She will header events successful Wisconsin, North Carolina and Pennsylvania connected Wednesday, and connected Thursday she will person rallies successful Arizona and Nevada. More events are expected earlier Election Day.

The run is looking to prime up voters crossed many different demographics successful nan dream that a plaything ballot present and location whitethorn adhd up to a triumph successful a razor’s-edge title pinch Trump.