Washington, DC — As both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump make their closing arguments to the American electorate, the contrasts could not be sharper. As political journalist McKay Coppins noted of VP Harris’s speech in Washington, DC, “Covering Harris’s ‘closing argument’ speech tonight in DC, I was really struck by how fully her campaign has taken back the patriotic aesthetics and rhetoric once associated with the GOP—while Trump’s descriptions of America have become darker and more dystopian.”
“Darker and more dystopian” only begins to describe Trump’s closing argument and the role of lurid anti-immigrant and anti-Latino lies which are central to his vision. As America’s Voice has been noting, Trump’s vilification of immigrants and Latinos is the centerpiece of his closing message and the connective tissue between the core elements of Trump-ism – division, authoritarianism, lies and violence.
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“The contrasts between the Trump and Harris visions of America – and the role and contributions of immigrants to the American story – could not be sharper and more consequential.
For both campaigns, immigration is bigger than simply a policy issue or tonal disagreement. The MAGA movement doesn’t believe that Latinos or immigrants are real ‘Americans,’ no matter their citizenship, birthplace or legal status, as Stephen Miller and other speakers made clear at Madison Square Garden. When Miller says ‘America is for Americans and Americans only’ he means that we – native-born, naturalized, DACAmented, Puerto Ricans, whoever – are not included in MAGA’s America. Trump is making his case that he and Republicans need unfettered power because immigrants are a threat to America and it foreshadows the sort of administration they would run, including their agenda to make as many people as possible deportable, including deeply rooted immigrants, those with current legal status, and even American citizens. It’s part of a dangerous and economically and morally repugnant vision of this nation and one focused on retribution.
Meanwhile, at her Washington, DC speech and throughout her campaign, VP Harris is highlighting the stakes for democracy while charting a vision for an inclusive and hopeful American future, and recognizing the essential role of immigration to America’s past, present and future. She sees the strength and vitality of America and Americans, whereas Trump only sees a dark and weak America.”
During her Washington, DC remarks last night, billed as an optimistic, forward-looking vision for America, VP Harris called out Trump’s cynical obstruction of the enforcement-heavy Senate border bill and made the case for immigration policies that pair an orderly border with legal pathways and opportunities for long-settled immigrants – an approach that has the strong backing of the American people instead of the enforcement-only alternative. Harris noted: “politicians must stop treating immigration as an issue to scare up votes in an election. And instead, treat it as a serious challenge that we must finally come together and solve.” Then, after reiterating her support for the border bill that Trump cynically obstructed, Harris went beyond the border to endorse a broader vision, noting: “we must acknowledge, we are a nation of immigrants. And I will work with Congress to pass immigration reform, including an earned path to citizenship for hardworking immigrants like farmworkers and Dreamers.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s obsessive focus on anti-immigrant themes remains central to his dark depiction of America as a dystopian nation and as the heart of his closing argument. As the New York Times recapped:
“Former President Donald J. Trump described immigration as the most important issue of the election in a speech on Tuesday that his aides cast as a closing argument hours ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris’s remarks at the Ellipse in Washington. In front of a group of supporters and reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Mr. Trump played a video featuring newscasts and descriptions of undocumented immigrants being responsible for murders, as he stood with the mother of a young woman whose 12-year-old daughter was killed. ‘So I know we talk about inflation and the economy, but as to me, there’s nothing, nothing, more important than the fabric of our country being destroyed.’”
In a week, we will see if Trump’s bet against the famous campaign phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid,” has paid off.
Resources and Background
- Read from America’s Voice, “Trump’s Vilification of Immigrants is the Centerpiece of His Closing Message and Threats to American Democracy.”
- Read America’s Voice, “10 Things We Know With Confidence About Immigration & 2024 Elections”
