Kamala Harris pairs anti-Trump attack with economic pitch at packed DC rally

WASHINGTON — Kamala Harris called on Americans to “turn the page” on the Donald Trump era at a rally Tuesday, rallying thousands of voters at the site where the former president addressed the mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6.

On a chilly fall evening one week before Election Day, the Democratic nominee criticized her Republican rival as “unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power.” She vowed to govern as a pragmatist by listening to everyone, including “people who disagree with me.”

“He says one of his highest priorities is to set free the violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers on January 6,” Harris said. “Donald Trump intends to use the United States military against American citizens who simply disagree with him — people he calls ‘the enemy from within.’ This is not a candidate for president who is thinking about how to make your life better.”

Harris spoke seven days before polls will close — and 100 days since President Joe Biden exited the race and propelled her to the top of the ticket — appearing on the Ellipse with a backdrop of the White House glowing with amber lights, which either she or Trump will occupy in three months.

“It is time to turn the page on the drama and the conflict, the fear and the division, it is time for a new generation of leadership in America. And I am ready to offer that leadership,” Harris said.

Moments before she took the stage, Harris’ communications director said on MSNBC that some 75,000 people gathered at the Ellipse. The House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack estimated that 53,000 attended Trump’s speech there that day as he encouraged rally-goers to march to the Capitol.

Harris evokes ‘the dignity of work’

Harris promised to “seek common ground” and “always put country above party,” pledging that he would put a desire to “make progress” over scoring “political points.”

Harris contrasted what she called a Trump “enemies list” with her “to-do list” on lowering costs for Americans, seeking to touch on both her anti-Trump message and make an argument to skeptical voters on what she would do for them. Some Democrats believe Harris must close the deal with a clear economic pitch about how she would ease the pain on middle-class pocketbooks.

“I have always had an instinct to protect,” she said, citing her record as a prosecutor. She promised to ban grocery price gouging, cap insulin and prescription drug costs, assist first-time home buyers with the down-payment. “I will deliver tax cuts to working people and the middle class … I will lead in honoring the dignity of work.”

Trump has sought to make the election a referendum on the Biden-Harris administration, blaming his rival for the inflation and border chaos of recent years as polls show razor-thin margins in the seven swing states likely to choose the next president. He has also capitalized on a series of left-wing positions she took in 2019 as a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, which she has since abandoned in favor of a more moderate platform.

As a reminder of the dynamics that Harris inherited, several pro-Palestinians protesters sought to disrupt her remarks, but they were too far away from her to throw off her speech.

A top Trump ally rebutted Harris’ speech before she delivered it.

“Kamala Harris will do anything but ‘turn the page’ today in Washington, D.C. — instead, she will stir up division because her America Last agenda has nothing to offer the American people,” Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley said. “Kamala’s ‘new way forward’ is just a more dangerously liberal version of the Harris-Biden administration’s failed policies. Kamala Harris broke our country’s economy, border security, and peace in foreign countries, but President Trump will fix it.” 

Harris hits Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric

Harris put Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric at the center of her closing argument, enlisting anti-Trump Republicans like former Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger to encourage undecided Republicans and center-right independents to vote for her. Her campaign aims to invoke Jan. 6 as a way to remind those voters what they don’t like about Trump.

She has cited former Trump chief of staff John Kelly’s recently published comments that Trump is “certainly an authoritarian” and “certainly falls into the general definition of fascist.” Kelly also said Trump spoke positively about Adolf Hitler when he was president. Thirteen former Trump administration officials backed Kelly’s criticism in a letter.

Harris has called Trump a “fascist” and argued that he is running for a third successive election to claim unchecked power. Trump has responded by labeling Harris a fascist and a communist at once. On Sunday, Trump held a packed rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City to make his own closing pitch, an event overshadowed by racist comments made by his allies who spoke first.

Harris’ entry into the race after Biden’s unprecedentedly late decision to exit has forced her to cram an entire campaign into a short window. She has sought to introduce herself to voters while also prosecuting her case against Trump by finding the points where she would pivot away from Biden and embrace a new tack.

That has left Democrats weighing their best message, trying to bounce between responding to polls that say voters want to know more about Harris while trying to remind Americans who voted Trump out of office in 2020 why they didn’t want him in power.

The Democratic polling firm Blueprint tested a series of anti-Trump messages and found that among persuadable voters in swing states, the strongest messages were focused on economics — cutting grocery prices, protecting Social Security and opposing corporate tax cuts. Highlighting Kelly’s remarks about Trump’s authoritarian inclinations helped Harris among those crucial voters, the firm said in a memo, but by less than the economic-focused pitches.

The speech on Tuesday represents an attempt by Harris to tackle both those goals at once. Her campaign hopes it will be seen as a hopeful and optimistic address with imagery of the White House behind her.

“I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. But here’s 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’s difficult to hear,” Harris said.

She also promised to work to “reach compromise to get things done,” drawing cheers from the crowd.