US Vice-President Kamala Harris notably did not mention her opponent, former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump, in her final pitch to Michigan voters during a rally on Sunday.
“America is ready for a fresh start, ready for a new way forward, where we see our fellow American not as an enemy, but as a neighbour. We are ready for a President who knows that the true measure of a leader is not based on who you beat down, it is based on who you lift up,” she said as she vowed to “turn the page on a decade of politics driven by fear and division”.
Though she has made contrasting Trump’s “enemies list” with her own “to-do list” a staple during her speeches in the final days of her campaign, Harris did not use the line on Sunday evening as she addressed young voters in East Lansing, Michigan.
“I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. In fact, I’ll give them a seat at the table, because that’s what strong leaders do,” she said, receiving applause from the people.
Harris and her allies had taken to calling former President Trump “unhinged” in recent weeks, as he claims the Vice-President is mentally impaired and he has used violent rhetoric against the press and critics like former Republican Representative Liz Cheney.
Earlier, Vice-President Harris made a final pitch to Michigan voters on Sunday evening, asking people who had not yet voted to cast their ballots on Election Day and those who had already done so to help get her campaign across the finish line in the battleground state.
With two days to go in “one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime,” Harris asserted, “we have momentum. It is on our side.”
“We have the momentum because our campaign is tapping into the ambitions, aspirations, and dreams of the American people because we are optimistic and excited about what we can do together, and because we know it is time for a new generation of leadership in America,” she said.
Harris chose to finish out her last scheduled swing through Michigan in East Lansing, home of Michigan State University, in an auditorium packed with many young people, as her campaign hopes to garner the youth vote to boost her over former President Donald Trump in the state.
The city is also in a highly competitive congressional district that Democrats hope to retain to help them gain control of the House.
“Michigan, I am here to ask for your vote,” Harris said, to a prolonged cheer from the crowd.
She again pledged to seek “common ground and common sense solutions” and vowed she was “not looking to score political points”.
“We need everyone to vote in Michigan. You will make the difference in this election,” she said.
