Harris Makes Final Pitch in Washington

Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks during a campaign rally on the Ellipse in Washington on Oct. 29, 2024. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

WASHINGTON—Vice President Kamala Harris made her campaign’s closing argument in a speech at the Ellipse in the nation’s capital on Oct. 29, positing that she is a better candidate for the presidency than former President Donald Trump while promising to seek common ground on challenges.

Tens of thousands of people attended the rally located at a symbolic site—it has a direct view of the White House, and it’s the place where Trump delivered his speech on Jan. 6, 2021, that preceded the Capitol breach.

The vice president tried to paint an optimistic and forward-looking picture, suggesting that her presidency would “turn the page” on the Trump era and offer a hopeful future for undecided voters, with calls to strengthen the economy and protect abortion access. She emphasized compromise, sought to separate herself from Washington elites, and promised to approach her work with optimism.

“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,” Harris said. “And I am ready to offer that leadership as the next president of the United States of America.”

Harris also promised to offer a different vision than her boss, President Joe Biden.

“My presidency will be different because the challenges we face are different. Our top priority as a nation four years ago was to end the pandemic and rescue the economy. Now, our biggest challenge is to lower costs, costs that were rising even before the pandemic, and that are still too high,” Harris added.

The speech was delivered two days after the former president made his own closing argument to voters during a rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, where he urged Americans to “dream big again” and described Harris as “unfit” for office.

The Oct. 29 speech was Harris’s final salvo to any remaining undecided voters in the last days of the 2024 presidential election.

The speech came after an intense political campaign of a little more than three months after Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic Party’s candidate after he dropped out of the race on July 21.

The vice president saw a significant rise in polling following the Democratic National Convention in August.

That momentum slowed in October, with Trump now taking a slight edge in many swing state polls.

In the battleground polling averages, the two candidates are tied in Wisconsin, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, while Harris is up by 1 point in Michigan, and Trump leads by roughly 1 point in North Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona.

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

Supporters Weigh In

Some Harris supporters told The Epoch Times that they gathered in the capital in the name of history, workers’ rights, the next generation, women, and their shared drive to keep Trump out of the White House.

“I would feel devastated on behalf of all women” if Harris loses the election, Meredith Shea, a freshman at George Washington University, told The Epoch Times.

Brady Eagan (L) and Meredith Shea (R) ahead of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris' closing arguments speech at The Ellipse in Washington on Oct. 29, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Originally from Portland, Oregon, Shea said abortion access is the main issue driving her vote.

“We’re on the precipice of having the first black female president,” Robin Rogers said. “That is epic in all forms and fashion.”

Rogers, 54, who works in Black Business Promotion, traveled from North Carolina to sell t-shirts outside the venue.

“We should all be standing behind her, not for the fact that she’s black but for the fact that this just possibly could be historic,” she said.

Maia Coleman-King (L) and her daughter ahead of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris' closing arguments speech at The Ellipse in Washington on Oct. 29, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Maia Coleman-King, 51, told The Epoch Times: “It gives us an opportunity to be seen and heard and represented. We’ve never had a female president. We’ve never had a woman of color, a black woman in the White House as commander in chief.

“I’m extremely excited as a black woman myself and a Howard University alumni. I’m extremely proud of my fellow Bison, and I want to do everything I can to make sure we sustain democracy.”

George Washington University freshman Brady Eagan said this is the time for the next generation to step up.

Eagan said he feels as if another Trump administration would be “a threat to democracy as a whole.”

“And I think it is up to young voters to prove that we are here and that we are ready to make change, and that’s what we’re here to do,” he said.

A September CNN poll found that 41 percent of likely voters described the economy as the most important issue influencing their vote, followed by 21 percent who said it was “protecting democracy” and 12 percent who named immigration.

“Protecting democracy” splits along party lines, with 37 percent of Harris supporters naming it as their top issue, while Trump supporters are focused on the economy (61 percent) and immigration (21 percent).

Next, the vice president will take her closing argument on the road in the final stretch before Election Day. This week, she will visit North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada.

Trump started the week with a campaign rally in Georgia. He is scheduled to make campaign stops in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Wisconsin again.