Election campaign in America: Kamala Harris' dramatic final appeal

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Election campaign in America: Kamala Harris' dramatic final appeal Article by Majid Sattar • 5 hours • 4 minutes reading time One week before the presidential election in America, Kamala Harris spoke on a stage on the south side of the White House on Tuesday evening. It was a dramatic prelude to the grand finale. One week before the presidential election in America, Kamala Harris took the stage in a park on the south side of the White House on Tuesday evening. The location was deliberately chosen: "The Ellipse" connects the President's official residence with the "National Mall" at the level of the Washington Monument, from where it is not far to the Capitol. From here, on January 6, 2021, Donald Trump called on his supporters to march "peacefully" to Congress to "fight like hell". Harris got straight to the point in her speech to thousands of supporters: Trump had at the time, after losing the presidential election, "sent an armed mob to the Capitol to overturn the will of the people." The Republican is not someone "who thinks about how he can improve your life," she shouted. Rather, he is someone "who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed by resentment and out for uncontrolled power." Then: "But America - I am here tonight to say: That is not what defines us." The large rally in Washington was intended to provide a counterpoint to everything that Trump stands for in Harris' eyes. In the final phase of the election campaign, the vice president, who was on the defensive, changed her strategy: "Freedom" and "joy" were no longer the focus, but the "danger to democracy" posed by Trump. The rally location was intended to symbolize this. The fact that Harris stood in front of the illuminated White House during her half-hour speech was of course a desired visual side effect. A cleverly orchestrated contrast to January 6th The supporters of the Democratic presidential candidate had to wait in a kilometer-long line for four hours to get onto the grounds. When the entrance gate was closed in the meantime, the people waiting became restless. Before a steward could explain the situation, one of the supporters - picking up Harris' campaign slogan - jokingly called out: "We are not going back." He didn't have to. The gate was opened again. Others who had actually not made it onto the fenced "Ellipse" gathered on the hill below the Washington Monument while the Washington autumn sun slowly set. The contrast to then could not have been greater. January 6th, 2021 was a gray winter day. The pandemic still dominated life. Which of course did not bother the Trump supporters at the "Save America" ​​demonstration at the time. Hardly anyone wore a mask. Instead, they appeared in military uniform. Many of them had weapons with them, which is why the Secret Service did not let them as far as the "Ellipse," where Trump spoke behind a bulletproof glass pane. At the time, he actually wanted to go to the Capitol with the mob. But his personal security, the Secret Service, did not play along. Those present later reported that Trump briefly became violent. It was no use. They drove back to the White House. Harris recalled on Tuesday evening that the involuntarily departing president then watched the storming of the Capitol on television in the West Wing. When his people told him that his supporters wanted to kill his vice president Mike Pence, who, contrary to his instructions, intended to certify Joe Biden's election victory, he replied: "So what?" Boos rang out again and again in the audience as Harris recalled this dark day in American history. Several people were killed. And 140 police officers were injured. Harris also recalled this. Then the Democratic candidate turned to the present: In the event of another election victory, Trump has an "enemy list" with the names of those he wants to prosecute. One of his priorities is to release the violent perpetrators of the past who have since been convicted after taking office. "Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to divide the American people and make them afraid of each other." This must stop. "It is time for us to leave the drama and conflict, fear and division behind us," Harris demanded. Biden is kept at a distance The Vice President now turned to herself: It is time for a new generation of leaders in America. "I promise to be a president for all Americans and to always put the country before the party and myself." She wants to seek compromises and find solutions with common sense. She will also listen to those who do not agree with her and who do not vote for her.