LITITZ, Pa. (AP) — Kamala Harris told a Michigan church on Sunday that God offers America a “divine plan strong enough to heal divisions,” while Donald Trump delivered a profane and conspiracy-laden speech in which he mused about shooting reporters and labeled Democrats “demonic.”
The two main candidates struck a completely different tone on the final Sunday of the campaign. Less than 48 hours before Election Day, Harris, the Democratic vice president, argued that Tuesday’s election offers voters an opportunity to reject “chaos, fear and hatred,” while Trump, the Republican former president, repeated lies about voter fraud to trying to cast votes. questioned the integrity of the vote and suggested the country was falling apart without him in office.
Harris focused her Sunday in Michigan, starting the day with a few hundred parishioners from Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit. It was the fourth straight Sunday that Harris, who is Baptist, has spoken to a black congregation, a reflection of how critical black voters are in several battleground states.
“I see faith in action in remarkable ways,” she said in remarks that quoted the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. “I see a nation determined to turn the page on hatred and division and chart a new path forward. As I travel, I see Americans from so-called red states and so-called blue states who are ready to bend the arc of history toward justice.”
She never mentioned Trump, though she is sure to return to her more conventional partisan speech later Sunday. But Harris did tell her friendly audience that “there are those who are trying to deepen division, sow hatred, spread fear and cause chaos.” The election and “this moment in our nation,” she continued, “must be about so much more than party politics. It should be about the good work we can do together.”
Harris completed her remarks in about 11 minutes — starting and ending during Trump’s roughly 90-minute speech at a chilly outdoor rally at the airport in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Trump habitually shifts from topic to topic, a discursive style he has called “the weave.” But in Lancaster he went too far, barely mentioning his usual points on the economy, immigration and rote criticism of Harris.
Instead, Trump relaunched criticism of voting procedures across the country and of his own staff. He revived grievances over prosecution after trying to overturn his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden, at one point suggesting he “shouldn’t have left” the White House.
And he stepped up his attacks on a “highly incompetent” national leadership and the US media, at one point musing about violence against members of the press.
He noticed the ballistic glass placed in front of him at events after a gunman nearly killed him at a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and talked about places where he saw openings.
“I have a piece of glass here,” he said. “But all we have here is fake news. And to get me, someone would have to go through the fake news. And I don’t mind that so much.”
His campaign later tried to clarify his intentions.
“President Trump spoke brilliantly about the two assassination attempts on his own life, including one that took place within an inch of killing him, something the media constantly talks about and jokes about,” campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. . “The president’s statement about installing protective glass has nothing to do with harming the media, or anything else.”
Trump also called John Bolton, his former national security adviser and now a fierce critic, a “stupid son of AB…”. And he repeated well-known and debunked theories about voter fraud, claiming that the only way Democrats could win was by cheating. Public polls indicate a tight and competitive race between him and Harris.
“It’s a crooked country,” Trump said. “And we’re going to make it right. We are going to make it right.”
Trump acknowledged that he was sidestepping his usual approach. He repeatedly described how he ignored his aides’ advice and told their side of the story in a mocking voice.
Co-campaign manager Susie Wiles, long credited with bringing order to Trump’s often chaotic political operation, watched silently from the podium.
Trump suggested at one point that he would not give this version of his speech again: “I hope you enjoyed this,” he said, “because I’m only doing this once.”
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Superville reported from Detroit, Barrow from Washington and Cooper from Phoenix.
