Atlanta, US, Oct 24 (EFE).- United States Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris held a star-studded rally Thursday in battleground state Georgia, less than two weeks out from the election.
The vice president took to the stage with former president Barack Obama in a high-profile campaign event at the James Hallford stadium in Atlanta, where she called on the voters not to return to another administration under her rival, Republican Donald Trump.
«We’re going to move forward and turn the page,» said Harris, who warned of the dangers posed by a new Trump term.
“Just imagine the Oval Office in three months. Picture it in your mind,” she said. “It’s either Donald Trump in there, stewing, stewing over his enemies list, or me working for you, checking off my to-do list.”
She again alluded to former US Marine Corps general John Kelly, who was Trump’s chief of staff and who has revealed to US media that the Republican wanted the kind of generals that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had.
Harris highlighted that during his first administration, Trump had people who controlled him, as if he were a child, but that if he returns to the White House, she warned that this would no longer be the case.
She also defended women’s reproductive rights and promised that if elected, and in the event of having a majority in Congress, she would immediately sign a law that would restore federal protection for abortion, which after a decision by the US Supreme Court has been left in the hands of state governments, many of them conservative.
«Your vote is your voice, and your voice is your power,» Harris said.
The Democratic candidate took the stage following a host of celebrities and politicians, but none achieved the impact of Obama, whose presence unleashed euphoria among the nearly 20,000 attendees at the event.
“We do not need four years of a wannabe king, a wannabe dictator running around trying to punish his enemies. That’s not what you need in your life. America is ready to turn the page,” Obama said, in reference to Kelly’s revelations.
The former president wondered how anyone could believe that Trump would do things for the common good.
“I get why people are looking to shake things up,” Obama said. “What I can’t understand is why anyone would think that Donald Trump will shake things up in a way that is good for you. Because there is absolutely no evidence that this man thinks about anybody but himself.”
If Harris is elected, she will not focus on her problems, her ego, her money – she will be focused on citizens, he assured.
Obama highlighted aspects of the Democratic candidate’s electoral policies, such as making it easier to build and buy a house, limiting out-of-pocket healthcare costs, and giving tax cuts to 100 million middle-class families and American workers.
The former president also addressed undecided voters, reminding them that elections are about more than just politics, they are about values and charity.
After Harris closed, Obama came out again to walk hand in hand with the vice president on the stage and let voters take pictures of him.
Early on in the rally, singer Bruce Springsteen on stage urged people to vote for the Democratic candidate and her running mate, Tim Walz, saying they are committed to a vision of a country that respects and includes everyone.
“I want a president who reveres the Constitution, who does not threaten but wants to protect and guide our great democracy, who believes in the rule of law and the peaceful transfer of power, who will fight for a woman’s right to choose, and who wants to create a middle-class economy that will serve all our citizens,” he said.
Harris is “running to be the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump is running to be an American tyrant,” said the singer, who performed “The Promise Land” on guitar and harmonica, as well as “Land of Hope and Dreams” and his hit “Dancing in the Dark.”
At the start of the event, actor Samuel L. Jackson, director Spike Lee and film producer Tyler Perry, as well as Georgia senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, made a unanimous call: «We’re not going back!»
Harris, who appeared on stage almost an hour late and which is why some people began to leave the premises to avoid traffic, held the big rally in the hopes of gaining ground in the swing state of Georgia, where some polls put her slightly behind Trump. EFE
lce/tw
