DETROIT (AP) — On the final Sunday before Election Day, Democrat Kamala Harris said God offers a “divine plan strong enough to heal divisions” and urged voters not to be fooled by Donald Trump’s disdain for the electoral system he falsely claims is rigged. against him.
The vice president presented the final version of her closing arguments in Michigan, where she started her day in the pulpit of a black church in Detroit. From there, she embarked on several additional stops across the state, a portion of the Democratic “blue wall” in the Midwest viewing her as the smoothest potential path to an Electoral College majority.
Harris avoided direct mention of Trump during her 11-minute speech at the Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ. But her comments nonetheless marked a clear contrast to the former president and the Republican nominee.
“There are people who want to deepen division, sow hatred, spread fear and cause chaos,” she said. She spoke at the same time Trump was in Pennsylvania, declaring the US a “failed nation” and saying he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after the 2020 election, which he denies came from Democrat Joe Biden has lost.
While Trump called Harris’ party “demonic,” Harris quoted the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah and told her friendly audience that she saw “a nation determined to turn the page on hatred and division and chart a new path forward.” .
After the service, Harris pushed back on Trump’s characterization of the U.S. election, telling reporters that his comments “are intended to distract from the fact that we have and support free and fair elections in our country.” Those “good systems” were in place in 2020, Harris said, and “he lost.”
The vice president said she is confident in the upcoming vote count and urged voters, “particularly people who have not yet voted, not to fall for this tactic, which I think includes suggesting to people that if they vote, their vote doesn’t matter.”
Separately, Harris nodded to Michigan’s sizable population of Arab Americans, many of whom are angry with the Biden administration for continuing the U.S. alliance with Israel while the Netanyahu administration continues its war against Hamas in Gaza.
“I have made it very clear that the death rate among innocent Palestinians is unconscionable,” Harris told reporters. ‘We must end the war and get the hostages out. And as President of the United States, I will do everything in my power to achieve that goal.”
Harris, who is Baptist, has addressed a black congregation each of the past four Sundays — a nod to how important black voters are in Michigan and several other battleground states.
After church, Harris greeted customers and picked up lunch at Kuzzo’s Chicken and Waffles, where she ate collard greens at the Detroit restaurant owned by former Detroit Lions player Ron Bartell, a Detroit native. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and other officials joined Harris during the stop. Later, Harris stopped at Elam Barber Shop, a black-owned business in Pontiac, where she participated in a moderate conversation with local leaders and black men.
Michigan, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, is crucial to Harris’ fortunes. Barack Obama captured the region in 2008 and 2012. But Trump carried Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in 2016, prompting significant criticism from Democrats who said candidate Hillary Clinton was taking the states for granted. Biden brought the three back to the Democrats’ column in 2020.
Losing any of the three would put pressure on Harris to pick up wins among the four Sun Belt battleground states: North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
