The 23 must-see lines from Kamala Harris' Ellipse speech
The 23 must-see lines from Kamala Harris' Ellipse speech
Here we go.
Vice President Kamala Harris delivered what her campaign billed as a closing argument for the 2024 campaign at the Ellipse in Washington, DC Tuesday night.
The location was intentional. On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump spoke to the “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse. Many of the attendees of that speech then marched to the U.S. Capitol and broke in — trying to stop the counting of electoral votes that made Joe Biden president.
I went line by line through the transcript of Harris’ speech — and pulled out the lines you need to see. They’re below.
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To the lines!
“This election is more than just a choice between two parties and two different candidates. It is a choice about whether we have a country rooted in freedom for every American or ruled by chaos and division.”
One of Harris’ tasks in the final days of the race is to establish a permission structure for Republicans — especially Republican women — to vote for her. This line is an attempt to do just that — framing the election as not a partisan choice but one between freedom and chaos. And away we go!
“Look, 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.”
I am not sure Trump “sent” the mob to the Capitol. But he definitely didn’t discourage it!
“And while Donald Trump sat in the White House watching as the violence unfolded on television, he was told by his staff that the mob wanted to kill his own vice president. And Donald Trump responded with two words, so what?”
This is true, according to a filing by special counsel Jack Smith this fall.
“America, 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.”
To me, one of Harris’ best arguments — which she mostly makes here — is that Donald Trump is solely and completely out for himself. Whether something is good for the U.S. is a secondary (or lower) concern in his mind.
“I am here tonight to say, that is not who we are. That is not who we are!”
I get why Harris says this. And I believe she believes it. But remember that even if Trump loses, he will get 46%+ of the vote — which will equate to somewhere north of 60 million people. So, 60 million of our fellow Americans will have looked at their options and said “I want Trump.” Which suggests to me he may well be who a lot of people, in fact, are.
“And the fact that someone disagrees with us does not make them the enemy within. They are family, neighbors, classmates, co-workers. They are fellow Americans. And as Americans, we rise and fall together.”
Again, this is aimed directly at wavering Republican women who don’t like Trump but need a sort of permission slip to explain why they are voting for a Democrat.
“It is time to stop pointing fingers. We have to stop pointing fingers and start locking arms. It is time to turn the page on the drama and the conflict, the fear and division. It is time for a new generation of leadership in America.”
Yes, I know Harris is mostly aiming this at the past decade of Trump but it’s not a big leap to see her also trying to move away from the last four years under Joe Biden too.
“And look, I'll be honest with you, I'm not perfect. I make mistakes.”
The best line so far by Harris. It’s simple but it draws an implicit contrast with Trump who refuses to admit he has ever made a mistake. Humility in politicians (and people) is a good thing.
“I will always listen to you even, even if you don't vote for me. I will always tell you the truth, even if it is difficult to hear.”
Republican women are you paying attention? Because Kamala Harris is talking to you.
“And on day one, if elected -- on day one, if elected, Donald Trump would walk into that office with an enemies list. When elected, I will walk in with a to-do list.”
Another very good line. (This speech was very well written.) Why? Because it drives home a key contrast — Donald Trump is looking out for himself, Kamala Harris is looking out for you.
“I have been honored to serve as Joe Biden's vice president. But I will bring my own experiences and ideas to the Oval Office. My presidency will be different because the challenges we face are different.”
Harris is sort of trying to have her cake and eat it too here. She doesn’t want to appear to be openly disloyal to Biden but she knows that if she is seen as a continuation of his presidency, she will lose.
“And this time he will pay for it with a 20 percent national sales tax on everything you buy that is imported.”
This is not, strictly speaking, true. Trump is not proposing a national sales tax. He is proposing broad tariffs on goods being imported into the country. PolitiFact checked out this Harris claim and found it to be “half true.”
“A Trump sales tax that would cost the average family nearly $4,000 more a year.”
Again, sort of. “Would” is doing a LOT of work in that sentence.
“I will enact the first ever federal ban on price-gouging on groceries.”
She may well do so. But she has offered very few specific details on how her anti-price gouging measure would actually work. And economists are split on its efficacy.
“He tried to cut Medicare and Social Security.”
The 2020 budget Trump proposed as president did have cuts to those entitlement programs in it. Also, as recently as March 2024, Trump left the door open to making cuts to Medicare and Social Security; “There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements,” he said.
“I will fight to restore what Donald Trump and his hand-selected Supreme Court justices took away from the women of America. That today one in three women in America, think about it, one in three women in America lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban; many with no exceptions even for rape and incest.”
To my mind, this line should have been MUCH higher in her speech. I think the more Harris and Trump talk about abortion in the final week of the campaign, the better for her chances.
“And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law, proudly.”
Of course, the chances of a divided Congress passing a bill that restores the right to an abortion nationwide is roughly 0%. Harris knows that. This is just empty rhetoric.
“Look, world leaders think that Donald Trump is an easy mark. Easy to manipulate with flattery or favor.”
No line in Harris’ speech will piss Trump off more than this one. Because if there’s anything he doesn’t want to be in life, it’s an easy mark. Relatedly: “Rounders” is an amazing film.
“I pledge to seek common ground, and common sense solutions to make your life better. I am not looking to score political points. I am looking to make progress.”
This is targeted — AGAIN! — directly at Republicans who probably voted for Nikki Haley in the GOP primary. Who don’t like Trump. But who are scared that Harris is some lefty ideologue who is going to take the country down the road to communism. Harris is basically saying here: I am not as scary as they make me out to be.
“I pledge to listen to experts, to those who will be impacted by the decisions I make, and to people who disagree with me.”
It’s remarkable that in the year 2024 saying “I pledge to listen to experts” is a political statement.
“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 the table.”
The title of this speech should have been “A Message from Kamala Harris to Republican Women who don’t like Donald Trump.”
“America, I know the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us. I know it.”
This is literally the opposite message Trump is closing on; the former president is emphasizing that the people with whom he has disagreements are evil and maliciously intended.
“And those who came before us, the Patriots at Normandy, and Selma, Seneca Falls, and Stonewall, on farmlands, and factory floors, they did not struggle sacrifice and lay down their lives only to see us cede our fundamental freedoms. They didn't do that only to see us submit to the will of another petty tyrant.”
A very good line to set the stakes of this election. And a good place to end.
"Go to the capitol and fight like hell" or words to that effect seem to constitute sending the mob down the street. It couldn't have been a lot clearer, so I don't know how you can be unsure about that.
You’re not sure he sent the mob? Really?
“ And after this, we're going to walk down, and I'll be there with you, we're going to walk down, we're going to walk down.
Anyone you want, but I think right here, we're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them.
Because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated.”
And then at the end:
“ And we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.
Our exciting adventures and boldest endeavors have not yet begun. My fellow Americans, for our movement, for our children, and for our beloved country.
And I say this despite all that's happened. The best is yet to come.
So we're going to, we're going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. I love Pennsylvania Avenue. And we're going to the Capitol, and we're going to try and give.”
Does that help clear it up for you?