Harris Makes Ellipse Speech While Biden's Comments Stir Controversy

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Facts

• Vice Pres. Kamala Harris Tuesday night in a speech given before an estimated 75K people at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. made a plea to undecided voters to 'turn the page' and 'stop pointing fingers and start locking arms' by voting for her instead of former Pres. Donald Trump.^[1]
• Speaking from the same area where Trump famously addressed his supporters before the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol, Harris told the crowd she would listen to everyone, 'even if you don't vote' for her.^[2]
• Harris also struck out at Trump, mentioning him 24 times, and calling him a 'petty tyrant' who's 'unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance' and determined to obtain 'unchecked power.'^[3]
• Harris also reviewed the goals of her economic plan — including cutting taxes for 'working people and the middle class,' tackling price gouging, helping first-time home buyers, and expanding the child tax credit.^[4]
• Also on Tuesday, Pres. Joe Biden was caught in a controversy over comments he made during a Zoom call with members of the Latino community after he was asked about a controversial joke told by a comedian who called Puerto Rico a 'floating island of garbage' during a Sunday Trump rally.^[5]
• Although Biden posted on X to clarify he was calling the comedian 'garbage' in response to the joke, many — including Trump — interpreted the president's words as calling Trump's supporters garbage.^[6][7]

Sources: ^[1]USA Today, ^[2]Associated Press, ^[3]Daily Mail (a), ^[4]Forbes, ^[5]Independent, ^[6]X.com and ^[7]Daily Mail (b).

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Raw Story and Guardian. Harris is positioning herself as the candidate who will unite the nation in opposition to Trump's divisive rhetoric. This speech didn't just address the Democratic Party but reached out to people who may not usually be inclined to vote for Harris but who are looking for an alternative to Trump. Harris did a great job of relating to voters by telling her backstory while also providing her vision for a brighter future.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Washington Free Beacon and Townhall. Harris isn't fooling anyone by selling herself as the 'unity candidate' even as she almost threatens undecided voters to pick her approach only. She may have toned down her rhetoric about Trump in this speech, but her past accusations about him — not to mention Biden's hateful comments about Trump's supporters — make it clear she's not selling joy or a brighter future, just more of the misery of the current administration.

Predictions