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GOP
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On Tuesday, Kamala Harris gave what will probably be her final national message at the fabled Ellipse just south of the White House. In case you don't have a mental map of downtown D.C., here is an actual map of it (it's there, just north of Constitution Ave., and just across the street from the White House):
It was a fitting place to speak because that is where Donald Trump spoke on Jan. 6, 2021, when he urged a mob to storm the Capitol. In contrast, Harris spoke about protecting democracy, not destroying it. She called Trump a "petty tyrant" who is "obsessed with revenge" and "consumed with grievance." She also said: "Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other. That's who he is. But America, I am here tonight to say: That's not who we are." Here is her full speech. It went on for 29 minutes:
During the address, Harris looked over at the White House and stressed the dangers that would befall Americans if Trump moved in there again. She talked about the threats to democracy, but also issues that may be more pressing to many people, including the economy, health care, and immigration. She also promised to listen to experts on complex issues and also to people who disagree with her. She noted that people who disagree with her are not the enemy. In fact, she wants them at the table so she can hear them out.
She made a point of not making the speech partisan. Instead of Harris/Walz signs, there were "USA" signs and flags. The pitch was clearly aimed at disaffected Republicans who strongly dislike Trump's style, bluster, and love of authoritarianism, but are scared of voting for a Democrat. The goal of her speech was to reassure them that she is no radical, the way Trump has depicted her, and that she would be president of all the people, not just the 50% or so who will probably vote for her. There was a lot of emphasis on how Trump has divided the country and would spend his term stewing and editing his enemies list. She tried to reassure "Nikki Haley Republicans" that she does not have an enemies list and, unlike Trump, would not spend her term "getting even" with anyone. Many moderate Republicans are not interested in "getting even" and want a forward-looking president who will try to solve current and future problems, not whine about the past. (Speaking of Haley, this is the moment she could earn a chapter in the next edition of Profiles in Courage, but she is stuck in a dream that Trumpism will go away and in 2028 she will get the GOP nomination. She is an intelligent woman, but sometimes politics blinds people.)
Harris did address abortion and other issues, but the main goals were to: (1) remind voters about Trump's treachery (hence the choice of The Ellipse) and (2) to show that she is a reasonable moderate who could be trusted to govern wisely, even for people who might not agree with all of her policy positions.
Will Trump be upset with Harris' speech? In the immortal words of Sarah Palin, "You betcha." She drew 75,000 people and overflowed The Ellipse itself onto the National Mall and beyond. This was her biggest crowd ever. By way of contrast, Madison Square Garden holds 19,500 people, so her rally was attended by almost four times as many people as Trump's speech on Sunday. With numbers like that, he can't compare crowds and brag: "Mine is bigger than yours." He cares about that more than anything. His rally did have a much higher number of slurs against Puerto Ricans, however, so there is that. (V)