By Ava C. Green, Editor-in-Chief
With Election Day nearing, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are making their last ditch efforts to appeal to voters, each giving their closing arguments at recent campaign rallies.
Trump went back to his roots on Sunday, Oct. 27, taking the stage at his home arena, Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. 29 speakers delivered messages of support before the former president went on. The rally lasted over five hours and culminated in Trump’s 78-minute speech, which began with a question: “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”
In his speech, Trump made many promises to voters about what they would see under his leadership if they were to vote for him, one of which was a new policy, announced for the first time at the rally, that would, “support a tax credit for family caregivers who take care of a parent or a loved one.” The majority of these promises similarly concerned supporting his plans to, “make America affordable again.” He says, “We will cut your taxes, end inflation, slash your prices, raise your wages, and bring thousands and thousands of factories back to America.
Trump’s speech was focused on his “pro-America,” anti-immigration and anti-Harris stances, calling on voters to “tell Kamala Harris that you've done a terrible job, that Crooked Joe Biden has done a terrible job. You've destroyed our country. We're not going to take it anymore. Kamala, you're fired. Get out. Get out. You're fired,” later continuing, “they're allowing criminals from all over the world to enter our country. Over the past four years, Kamala Harris has orchestrated the most egregious betrayal that any leader in American history has ever inflicted upon our people.”
He also said, “On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out. I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail and to kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible,” also mentioning a dome he would have built over New York City to protect the nation from a “World War 3” that he mentions multiple times in his speech, posing it as an imminent threat.
The speech alluded to the fact that recent devastations felt in the country would have been avoided if he were in office instead of President Joe Biden, citing things like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and inflation as events that would have been avoided under his power. He said, “I got along with Putin. Ukraine was the apple of his eye, but I said, Vladimir, don't go in.”
Harris’s closing argument on Tuesday, Oct. 29, took place where Trump’s infamous Jan. 6, 2021 rally was held at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. Her speech began by acknowledging the events of that day. She said, “Americans died as a result of that attack. 140 law enforcement officers were injured. And while Donald Trump sat in the White House watching, as the violence unfolded on television, he was told by staff that the mob wanted to kill his own vice president. Donald Trump responded with two words: ‘So what?’”
In a similar vein to her opponent, Harris said she planned to “allow Medicare to cover the cost of home care so seniors can get the help and care they need in their own homes.” Also similarly, she harped on the note of affordability in America in light of intense inflation under her vice presidency. “I will make sure you have a chance to not just get by, but get ahead,” she said.
She spoke disdainfully about politicians’ hateful rhetoric aimed at immigrants, referencing Trump’s deportation plan, saying, “On day one, if elected, Donald Trump would walk into that office with an Enemies List.” Still, confirmed that border security was in fact on her “To-Do list, full of priorities on what [she] will get done for the American people.” She said she would “remove those who arrive here unlawfully, prosecute the cartels, and give border patrol the support they so desperately need.”
“Donald Trump should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” Vice President Harris said. “And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, as President of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.”
Harris said at the beginning of the speech, “This election is more than a choice between two parties and two different candidates. It is a choice about whether we have a country rooted in freedom for every American. Or one ruled by chaos and division.”
However, the core concerns fueling each candidates’ promises are actually quite similar, both circling in heavily on issues of strengthening the military, securing borders, and adjusting for inflation. However, both candidates have also been asking voters not only to support their campaigns, but to distrust their opponents’.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, but Trump and Harris are still on the rally route, now headed for the Western states.
Recordings from each of these events can be found online, as well as the majority of the speeches that were and are going to be delivered on their campaign trails, serving as a great resource to undecided voters still conflicted on the way these promises will be delivered.
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