Kamala Harris rallies at the D.C. Ellipse to deliver ‘closing argument address’

In what her campaign billed as her “closing argument address” former President Kamala Harris took to the Ellipse in Washington D.C. Tuesday evening to remind voters of precisely what might occur should former President Donald Trump return to power.

Standing approximately where the 45th President stood on January 6, 2021, when he directed an unruly mob of supporters toward the U.S. Capitol where Congress was certifying his loss in the 2020 election, Harris said voters are faced with a decision that directly impacts them, their families, “and this country that we love.”

“It will probably be the most important vote you ever cast,” she said.

Voters can choose a country that’s built for all citizens, or one “ruled by chaos and division.”

“The choice and the stakes in this election,” Harris said, were made clear on January 6.

“We know who Donald Trump is. He is the person who stood at this very spot nearly 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, an election that he knew he lost,” she said.

Trump was told, Harris said, that the mob wanted to kill Vice President Mike Pence. Trump allegedly replied “so what?”

“That’s who Donald Trump is,” Harris said.

“He has an enemies list of people he intends to prosecute,” she said. Trump has said he will pardon the people charged with participating in the riots on Jan. 6, Harris said. He will turn the U.S. military against the American people, she said.

“This is not a candidate for president who is thinking about how to make your life better. This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power,” she said.

Trump’s National Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said in a statement that Harris’ “closing argument” was filled with “lying, name-calling, and clinging to the past to avoid admitting the truth.”

“The migrant crime crisis, sky-high inflation, and raging world wars are the result of her terrible policies. Kamala’s first day in office was over 1,300 days ago, and she has spent the past four years working hand-in-hand with Joe Biden to destroy our country – but now, she is lying about her record because she has zero policy solutions to offer. As for President Trump, his closing argument to the American people is simple: Kamala broke it; he will fix it,” Leavitt said.

For her part, Harris pledged a message of unity.

“For too long, we have been consumed with too much division, chaos and mutual distrust — it can be easy then, to forget a simple truth: it doesn’t have to be this way,” Harris said.

Harris said that if elected, she will “always listen to you.”

“Even if you don’t vote for me,” she said.

Responding to an attack line from her critics, including the Trump campaign, Harris said her presidency would not be a continuation of President Joe Biden’s but a reflection of her own values.

Trump, she said, would cut taxes by $2 trillion for the very wealthy, but instituting a “Trump sales tax” in the form of tariffs that would cost American households thousands each year. He would eliminate the Affordable Care Act and throw millions of patients with pre-existing conditions off their health care plans.

“We are not going back,” she said.

Harris said she would institute a federal ban on the price gouging of groceries, cap the price of insulin and other prescription drug costs for all patients, and work to help families afford housing.

“I will fight to help first-time homebuyers with your down payment, take on the companies that are jacking up rent, and build millions of new homes,” she said.

Harris also emphasized the fight over abortion, pointing out that Trump has said he’s proud he was behind the Supreme Court that took away Roe v. Wade, and that now one out of three women now live under a “Trump abortion ban.” Harris said she would work with Congress to codify Roe into law.

“He would ban abortion nationwide, restrict access to birth control, and put IVF access at risk, and force states to monitor women’s pregnancies,” she said. Trump has said he does not back a national abortion ban, but would leave the matter to the states.

On immigration, Harris said, politicians need to stop using it as an election issue, but treat it as “the serious issue that it is.” She would sign the “border bill that Donald Trump killed.”

Harris also vowed to build up the military, while her rival, she said, thinks veterans and service members are “suckers and losers.” Trump has denied making those comments, though his former Chief of Staff, retired Gen. John Kelly, has confirmed Trump’s remarks.

“I will always honor, never degenerate, the service and sacrifice of our troops and their families,” Harris said.

Harris’ speech lasted about 30 minutes and drew a massive crowd to Washington, with an overflow crowd spilling under the Washington Monument on the National Mall.

Ahead of Harris’ speech, Trump used remarks to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Tuesday morning to accuse Harris of closing with a message that doesn’t address everyday Americans’ day-to-day struggles and kitchen-table concerns.