Last night, Kamala Harris made her “closing argument” speech in Washington, DC. She spoke at the Ellipse, with the White House framed in the distance behind her. The staging was incredible, because on January 6, 2021, Donald Trump used this same location to address his cult and incite the insurrection, a violent attempted coup of the federal government. Kamala Harris has spent the past four months reclaiming America for Americans, and this was reclaiming the shining city on the hill. Kamala Harris’s speech was not only presidential, it felt inaugural – this was her list of policy priorities and her evocation of hope in America and Americans.
A really well-done speech. I got goosebumps. I watched this on MSNBC last night, and Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes made the point that VP Harris has really been flawless since July 21, when Joe Biden stepped out of the race and endorsed her. She has an amazing team around her, she has great speechwriters, she’s prepared for every moment, she’s not too rigid or rehearsed, and the vibes have been immaculate. Something I keep thinking about is how the Democratic Party and media intelligentsia had already written her off. They thought they had already boxed her in and done enough reputational harm to her, so much so that it was unthinkable to them that Biden would endorse her and that she would inherit Biden’s team and do THIS with that team.
It’s also worth noting that 75,000 people came to watch VP Harris’s speech last night. One, DC needs congressional representation. Two, Trump’s Madison Square Garden Nazi rally was at capacity, meaning 19,500 people came out for that racist sh-tshow. The MSG rally was Trump’s biggest of his campaign.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Getty.