'Time for a new generation of leadership in America,' Harris tells supporters at final Philly rally
CBC
Kamala Harris took the stage at her final campaign stop in Philadelphia on Monday night, addressing voters in a swing state that may very well hold the key to tomorrow's historic election: "You will decide the outcome of this election, Pennsylvania," she told the tens of thousands of people who gathered to hear her speak.
After TV personality Oprah Winfrey introduced her as the next President of the United States, Harris delivered a speech that stressed political unity, alluding to her opponent Donald Trump only in shrouded terms. But she also seemed eager to turn the page on the Biden presidency.
"We are all in this together," Harris told the crowd. "We know it is time for a new generation of leadership in America."
But she reminded supporters and undecided voters that they weren't yet at the finish line — "Every single vote matters," she said, imploring those in the crowd to get their families, friends and colleagues to vote in an election that could be decided at the margins.
"This could be one of the closest races in history," said Harris.
The vice-president reminded the crowd of her record as a former prosecutor, saying she won fights against big banks, exploitative universities, drug traffickers and gangs.
"It is my pledge to you that if you give me a chance to fight on your behalf as president, there is nothing in the world that will stand in my way."
Harris never mentioned Donald Trump's name in her speech. But she alluded to him several times, saying that if she became president she'd be checking off her to-do list rather than "stewing over an enemies list."
Trump has made repeated references to "enemies from within" in recent weeks. Harris snapped back during her speech, saying that "real leaders" give people who disagree with them a seat at the table.
She led the crowd in chanting what is now a signature campaign slogan — "we're not going back" — after addressing Trump's attempts during his presidency to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
The vice-president said the U.S. was ready to turn the page on a decade of "fear and division." And well before she took the stage, some supporters were clearly still trying to shake the memory of her opponent Donald Trump's first presidency.
"I want dignity and decency brought back," said Michael Cianchetta, who was attending the rally with his wife Nancy from Quakertown, Penn. "So sick of what we had for those prior four years."
And while Cianchetta said he's a little bit anxious going into election day — "I know the margins are gonna be narrow." — he's hopeful that Harris will come out on top.
Asked what she thought Harris would have to say to undecided voters to convince them, Nancy Cianchetta wants her candidate "to continue that idea that we work together, that we don't divide the country. We work with everyone."
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