'A petty tyrant': 6 takeaways from Kamala Harris closing argument speech

WASHINGTON ― Kamala Harris delivered her final case against Donald Trump's return to the White House, calling her Republican rival "consumed with grievance" while casting herself as focused on Americans' needs, in a speech Tuesday night billed as a "closing argument" before next week's election.

Harris sought to crystallize a contrast with Trump to appeal to a sliver of remaining undecided voters who could sway the election across seven tightly contested battleground states. An estimated 75,000 people attended the event at the Ellipse on the National Mall, according to the campaign, making it the largest event of her White House bid.

"America, we know what Donald Trump has in mind: more chaos, more division, and policies that help those in the very top and hurt everyone else," Harris said in a 30-minute speech as Trump also held a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. "I offer a different path."

Yet Harris' pitch was almost immediately overshadowed by President Joe Biden, who undercut one of her speech's main themes ? a call for unity and civility ? by appearing to refer to Trump's supporters as "garbage" during a separate campaign event. Biden later said this was not his intention and clarified his remarks.

Here are six takeaways from the address:

'We know who Donald Trump is,' Harris says

Harris portrayed Trump, the Republican nominee, as a vengeful "petty tyrant" who is only out for himself and "unchecked power," arguing he would bring an "enemies list" to the White House while she would bring a "to-do list" of priorities.

"Look, we know who Donald Trump is," Harris said. "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.”

More: Kamala Harris is eying these undecided voters with final warning about Trump

The Ellipse was chosen as the setting for Harris' speech not just to bring up memories of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol ? in which Trump supporters tried to stop Congress from certifying Biden's election win. But with the White House as the backdrop, the location was meant to remind Americans of the "gravity of the job," the Democratic presidential campaign said.

Harris said one of Trump's "highest priorities is to set free the violent extremists" who led the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, a reference to her opponent's campaign pledge to "absolutely" pardon the convicted felons "if they're innocent." And she railed on Trump's phrase "the enemy within" to describe his political opponents.

"This is not a candidate for president who is thinking about how to make your life better," Harris said. "Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other. That is who he is, but America, I am here tonight to say that is not who we are."

Pitch for unity and 'locking arms'

Harris framed herself as a unifier, arguing that while Trump demeans and threatens his adversaries, she would work with them.

"I don't believe people who disagree with me are the enemy," Harris said. "He wants to put them in jail. I'll give them a seat at the table."

The overture seemed to be aimed squarely at Republican voters who aren't fans of Trump but are still on the fence about voting for a Democrat. On the campaign trail, Harris has highlighted her support from former Republican U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney and more than 230 former White House officials from past Republican administrations.

"We have to stop pointing fingers and start locking arms," Harris said. "It is time to turn the page on the drama and the conflict, the fear and division. It is time for a new generation of leadership in America."

Harris made a promise to her skeptics.

"I'll be honest with you. I'm not perfect. I make mistakes," Harris said. "But here's what I promise you. I will always listen to you. Even if you don't vote for me. I will always tell you the truth, even if it is difficult to hear."

More: ‘Fixated on his grievances’: Harris blasts Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally

Biden undercuts message by sparking GOP backlash

The unity message of Harris' speech, however, was blemished by remarks the same night from Biden, who did not attend the address and has been on the sidelines for much of Harris' campaign.

"The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters," Biden appeared to say of Trump during a campaign call centered around Latino voters. "His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American."

Biden was responding to a highly criticized insult from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who at a Sunday Trump rally at New York's Madison Square Garden called Puerto Rico a "floating pile of garbage."

More: Who is Tony Hinchcliffe, Trump's warm-up act at Madison Square Garden?

Republicans seized on Biden's remarks. "Just moments ago, Joe Biden stated that our supporters are garbage," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said at Trump campaign rally in Allentown, Pa. while standing next to Trump. "We are not garbage. We are patriots who love America."

Biden later issued a statement seeking to clarify that he was referring to the comedian, a Trump supporter, as garbage.

"Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage — which is the only word I can think of to describe it," Biden said. "His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That's all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don't reflect who we are as a nation."

Message aimed at small sliver of undecided voters

Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, in a statement on Harris' speech, accused the vice president of "lying, name-calling, and clinging to the past" to hide the failures of the Biden-Harris administration.

Ahead of the speech, the Harris campaign said the closing argument was aimed at two different audiences of undecided voters, totaling about 3% to 5% of the electorate, who could swing a razor-close election.

One camp is the "persuade to participate" voters, a Harris official told USA TODAY. This includes young voters, voters of color and others who are inclined to vote for Harris but still need to be motivated. The group includes so-called "low-information voters" who don't closely follow the daily news of the campaign.

The second group consists of more engaged traditional swing voters ? independent and Republican voters from suburban areas who may have supported Nikki Haley in the GOP presidential primaries against Trump but aren't on board yet with Harris.

"These are very much the people we've been talking to all along," Harris campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon told reporters. "And there's no doubt that we think we have opportunity to peel away support from Trump from the past."

Last-minute introduction

Harris remarked on the unusual circumstances of the election. She became the Democratic nominee after Biden dropped out of the race exactly 100 days ago.

She's put together a snapshot campaign to try to introduce herself to voters ? yet with Election Day just days away, some still say they don't enough about her.

"I recognize this has not been a typical campaign," Harris said, drawing some laughter in the crowd. "I know that many of you are still getting to know who I am."

Harris said she is someone who has spent most of her career outside of Washington "so I know that not all the good ideas come from here." She touted her record as a prosecutor who has taken on "tough fights against bad actors and powerful interests."

"It's what my mother instilled in me: a drive to hold accountable those who use their wealth or power to take advantage of other people, a drive to protect hard-working Americans who aren't always seen or heard and deserve a voice."

Harris on Biden: 'My presidency will be different'

Harris used her address to try to answer one of the most recurring questions of her campaign: how her presidency would be different than Biden's four years in office.

"I will bring my own experiences and ideas to the Oval Office. My presidency will be different, because the challenges we face are different," Harris said.

Harris said that when Biden and she entered the office in January 2021, the top priority as a nation was to address the COVID-19 pandemic and revive the economy. "Now our biggest challenge is to lower costs ? costs that were rising even before the pandemic. And they are still too high. I get it," she said.

Harris has faced a challenge to try to chart her own course while still serving loyal to the president she serves ? whose approval rating has remained low for much of his presidency.

Harris ended her speech with a patriotic tone, reminding Americans of those who fought in Normandy and for civil rights and equality for women.

"They did not struggle, sacrifice and lay down their lives only to see us cede our fundamental freedoms. They didn't do that only to see us submit to the will of another petty tyrant," she said, referring to Trump.

"These United States of America, we are not a vessel for the schemes of wannabe dictators. The United States of America is the greatest idea humanity ever devised," Harris said.

Election Day is days away. Sign up for USA TODAY's On Politics newsletter for breaking news and exclusive analysis.

Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 6 takeaways from Kamala Harris closing argument speech