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Jimmy Williams
In the final Sunday before Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump took sharply contrasting tones as they reached out to voters, with Harris calling for national unity and healing and Trump denouncing his opponents as “demonic” in a profanity-laden, conspiracy-fueled address.
Harris, the Democratic nominee, focused on a message of hope at Detroit’s Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ, where she addressed a congregation of a few hundred in Michigan, a critical swing state. In her speech, she invoked her faith, calling the election “a chance to turn the page on chaos, fear, and hate.”
“I see faith in action in remarkable ways,” she said, quoting the prophet Jeremiah. “I see a nation determined to turn the page on hate and division and chart a new way forward.” Harris underscored the importance of the moment, saying it is “about so much more than partisan politics” and that Americans should focus on the “good work we can do together.”
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For Harris, it was her fourth consecutive Sunday speaking at a Black church, a nod to the importance of the Black vote in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Her brief, 11-minute remarks contrasted starkly with Trump’s sprawling 90-minute speech to supporters at an outdoor rally at Lancaster Airport in Pennsylvania, where he delved into various grievances, often veering away from his usual points on the economy and immigration.
Trump’s speech was filled with fiery rhetoric, including labeling Democrats as “demonic” and making veiled references to violence against the media. Referring to the ballistic glass placed on his podium following an attempted attack on him in July, Trump remarked that, for anyone targeting him, “someone would have to shoot through the fake news,” a comment that drew immediate criticism.
Trump’s campaign later tried to soften his comments, with spokesperson Steven Cheung explaining that Trump was referring to assassination attempts he has survived and that the glass placement comment “had nothing to do with harm toward the media.”
In addition to targeting the press, Trump referred to his former national security adviser, John Bolton, as a “dumb son of a b—,” and repeated debunked theories about widespread voter fraud, declaring that Democrats could only win by “cheating.”
“It’s a crooked country,” Trump told his Pennsylvania audience. “And we’re going to make it straight. We’re going to make it straight.”
Trump also reflected on his own decisions to ignore his aides’ advice, describing his typical style of speech as “the weave” for its frequent topic changes. He then acknowledged to the crowd that this was a unique version of his rally speech, quipping, “I hope you’ve enjoyed this, because I’m only doing this one time.”
As Trump questioned the integrity of the upcoming vote, public polls continued to show a close race between him and Harris. Harris, however, did not mention Trump by name, though she alluded to the tone of his campaign by saying, “there are those who seek to deepen division, sow hate, spread fear, and cause chaos.”
“We have an opportunity to turn the page on a decade of Donald Trump, who has been trying to keep us divided and afraid of each other,” she said, adding, “This is a moment to choose unity over division and faith over fear.”
In the final days before Election Day, Harris plans to continue campaigning in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, while Trump is expected to hold additional rallies across key battlegrounds in the Midwest.
