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Harris Prepares Jan. 6 Economy-Focused Closing Speech
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Harris Prepares Jan. 6 Economy-Focused Closing Speech

(Bloomberg) — Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver her closing remarks on Washington’s historic National Mall Tuesday night, seeking to portray former President Donald Trump as a man consumed by grievance and revenge in the hope that Americans will prove they’re willing to turn the page.

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Speaking from the Ellipse on Tuesday (where Trump called on his supporters to object to the election results on January 6, 2021), Harris will argue that her Republican rival’s egoism meets the needs of the American people, one of Harris’ top campaign campaigns. the official said. Harris will then turn to a more proactive argument for economic policies aimed at lowering costs and enriching the middle class.

In the final stretch of an incredibly close presidential election, Harris’ team needs Tuesday’s event, steeped in symbolism, to reframe the race as a referendum on her opponent; While it reminds voters of the divisiveness and chaos that defined much of his presidency, it also appeals to voters opposed to it. He may still be reluctant to support her or any Democrat. The vice president must present himself as sufficiently different not only from the former president but from the current president and the inflationary and divisive policies and culture that alienate many voters.

The Harris team has not hesitated to court moderate Republicans in recent weeks, as well as female voters upset that the conservative-leaning Supreme Court has struck down federal abortion rights.

“He hasn’t had the opportunity to introduce himself to voters as much as he would in a ‘normal campaign.’ “I don’t know if any of us know what ‘normal’ is anymore,” said Karen Finney, a longtime Democratic strategist and Harris ally. “This will be a high-profile moment to end the campaign the way she started it. We will approach this moment with grace, wisdom and strength.” “He stepped up and embraced it. This is a moment to pause and bring it all together, as we saw at the Democratic National Convention.”

Democrats have disagreed over the past few weeks over how much Harris should address Trump’s inflammatory comments or former Trump White House officials who no longer support him, and how much time Harris should spend talking about her own vision. Finney said Harris should have responded to Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, and his warnings that Trump would rule like a dictator, but now she needs to talk more about her agenda.

“It’s time to change that balance,” Finney said. “The comments about Kelly were surprising but need to be underlined, but this speech revives an opportunity to remind voters that this is about all of us: the American people.”

Harris’ campaign aims to build a winning coalition of women and suburban voters (Blacks, Latinos and Republicans) as she tries to win the race in seven battleground states: Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania . .

Behind the scenes, Harris officials have expressed more confidence in her chances of winning Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, while they are less confident about her standing in Michigan. There, some Arab Americans may not participate in this election because of their disgust with President Joe Biden’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza. The Trump campaign has been aggressively running attack ads in Michigan in an attempt to stifle Democratic support for Harris.

“This is going to be a close race. “We’ve known this all fall,” Harris campaign manager Jennifer O’Malley Dillon said on MSNBC over the weekend. Dillon said the high levels of early voting and turnout among Democrats so far indicate Harris will win He said, though recent polls show Harris and Trump in a tight race in all swing states.

Harris’ speech Tuesday night will appeal to about 3% to 5% of undecided voters. Polls show that these voters primarily care about the economy, followed by immigration, democracy and abortion.

On the economy, Harris has promised to enact a larger child tax credit, offer down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers and expand Medicare to help cover the cost of care for senior citizens. Harris is expected to compare this to Trump’s economic agenda in her speech; The campaign official said it revolves around tax cuts for wealthy people and corporations and strong tariffs that the Harris campaign calls a “national sales tax.” Part of his argument is that the tariffs will cost working families up to $4,000 a year.

Harris plans to take this closing message to all battleground states on the road, the official said.

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