Harris: "It is time for a new generation of leadership in America"
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.

Vice President Harris on stage for a campaign rally on the Ellipse on Oct. 29 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Vice President Harris made her final pitch before tens of thousands of people on the National Mall Tuesday, as she warned a second Trump administration would bring "chaos and division" and said it's time to "turn the page."
Why it matters: Exactly one week until Election Day, Harris — with the White House lit up behind her — invoked a message of unity, reaching across the aisle to appeal to the coveted undecided voters who will likely decide the razor-thin contest.
- The Democratic presidential nominee said that the U.S. "is not a vessel for the schemes of wannabe dictators," but the "greatest idea humanity ever devised."
- "In 7 days, we have the power to turn the page, and start writing the next chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told," Harris said.
Driving the news: Harris, speaking at the same site where former President Trump spoke on Jan. 6, 2021, moments before a violent mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, said her GOP rival is "unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and out for unchecked power."
- She said at the Ellipse: "He is the person who stood at this very spot nearly four years ago and sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election that he knew he lost."
- Harris during her final days on the campaign trail has ramped up her rhetoric presenting the former president as a fundamental threat to the republic, as she pledges to "be a president for all Americans."
- She added: "It is time to turn the page on the drama and conflict, the fear and division."
Zoom in: Harris acknowledged on Tuesday that "our biggest challenge is to lower costs, costs that were rising even before the pandemic, and that are still too high."
- Polling consistently shows that the economy is the most important issue for voters — and some Democrats are concerned that voters don't know much about Harris' economic platform.
- She sought to contrast her plan with Trump's, saying that he "will deliver tax cuts to his billionaire donors," while she will deliver cuts "to working people and the middle class."
- In an apparent effort to remind voters about her economic positions, she said she would pass a federal ban on price gouging on groceries, a cap on the price of insulin and limit out-of-pocket prescription costs.
One other policy area that is top of mind for millions of Americans is immigration, one of Trump's central campaign tenets.
- "Politicians must stop treating immigration as an issue to scare up votes in an election. And instead, treat it as a serious challenge that we must finally come together and solve," she said.
The other side: The Trump campaign in a statement after Harris' remarks said that she "has spent the past four years working hand-in-hand with Joe Biden to destroy our country — but now, she is lying about her record because she has zero policy solutions to offer."
Between the lines: Harris, who ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket in extraordinary fashion in August, also shared more details about her motivation for leadership, as polling shows that Americans still want to learn more about the VP.
- She said she's motivated "to hold accountable those who use their wealth or power to take advantage of other people ... [and] protect hard-working Americans who aren't always seen or heard and deserve a voice."
- Harris, who at 60 is 18 years younger than 78-year-old Trump, said "it is time for a new generation of leadership in America.
The bottom line: "On day one, if elected, Donald Trump would walk into that office with an enemies list," Harris said.
- "When elected, I will walk in, with a to-do list."
Go deeper: Harris address tonight aims to help voters picture her in the White House
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
