Kamala Harris insisted she has the momentum and ‘will win’ the presidential race as rival Donald Trump sold out Madison Square Garden for a massive rally of his faithful.
The Democratic nominee spent a low-key day in Philadelphia, courting minority and youth voters. She visited an African American church, barbershop and bookstore. And then she stopped by Puerto Rican restaurant.
Harris, who previously portrayed herself as the underdog, shifted to a new tone, saying the presidential contest is hers to win.
‘There’s a lot of hard work ahead of us but make no mistake we will win,’ she told a cheering crowd of 3,000 at a community center.
‘We will win because if you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for.’
Polls show the presidential race is essentially tied, which means each campaign needs to make sure it turns out as many voters as possible on November 5th.
Kamala Harris spent Sunday campaigning around Philadelphia
As Harris rallied voters in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania, Trump was in New York, a Democratic-strong hold, to speak to a gathering of 20,000 strong MAGA fans.
In Pennsylvania, Trump leads in the polling average in the state, but only by one point, so it’s within the margin of error.
The state could decide the presidential election with its 19 electoral votes. In addition to making multiple campain stops, the Harris campaign released a new ad called ‘Philly vs. Trump.’
The ad reminds voters about the negative comments the former president has made about the city. The ad will run during Sunday’s football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cincinnati Bengals, which means it’ll get good coverage.
But Harris focused her time in the city, a majority Democratic stronghold, on appealing to minority voters and Generation Z, reminding them to use their voice on Election Day.
‘Philadelphia is a very important part of our path to victory, and it is the reason I’m spending time here,’ Harris told reporters. ‘But I’m feeling very optimistic about the enthusiasm that’s here and the commitment from folks of every background.’
At her rally, she reminded young voters the choice is theirs on Election Day.
‘We have the ability to turn the page on that same old tired payback,’ Harris said. ‘We are ready to chart a new way forward.’
‘We are a new generation of leadership that is optimistic and excited,’ she noted.
‘The great thing about living in a democracy – as long as we keep it – is that we the people have the power to choose our direction,’ Harris said.
Donald Trump played a sold-out Madison Square Garden on Sunday
Kamala Harris met with grade-schoolers at a campaign community event at The Alan Horwitz ‘Sixth Man’ Center, a youth basketball facility, in Philadelphia
Kamala Harris sat in the ‘lucky chair’ at a barbershop in Philly
Harris’ 15-minute speech was interrupted twice – by a medical emergency and a protester.
Shortly after she started talking, someone toward the back fainted. Harris paused to let medical professionals get to the person.
‘That’s what we do. We look out for each other,’ she said.
A few minutes later she was interrupted by a Gaza protester. The crowd responded in chats of: ‘We aren’t going back!’
Harris said she is committed to end this war and bring the hostages home – then she got back to her speech.
The vice president didn’t focus her fire on Trump during her remarks. She left that to her surrogates.
On Sunday, her running mate Tim Walz compared Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally to the Nazi party event at the same venue in 1939.
Speaking on the campaign trail in Nevada, Walz said: ‘Donald Trump’s got this big rally going at Madison Square Garden. There’s a direct parallel to a big rally that happened in the 1930s at Madison Square Garden’
And Doug Emhoff, Harris’ husband, said Trump is ‘falling apart.’
‘The other side is just trying to put all this noise and gaslighting and misinformation,’ the second gentleman said during a campaign stop in Atlanta.
He then turned his fire on Trump: ‘Just look at him. He’s falling apart. …. Just listen to what he is saying.’
Emhoff also blamed Trump for the ‘chilling of free speech’ as large news outlets – including the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times – decide not to endorse a presidential candidate.
‘People in the media [are] afraid to do something because there is a chilling effect,’ he said. ‘We cannot live like that.’
Harris, meanwhile, had a packed day of events in Philadelphia, talking nonstop with voters, giving hugs, and making small talk.
Her goal was to boost voter turnout nine days ahead of the election.
At the Philly Cuts in West Philly, Harris sat down in a chair that has been a good luck touchstone for political candidates.
The barbers told her that every candidate running for elected office who has sat in the chair has won their election.
Harris also visited a bookstore with books about Africa, civil rights icons, and slavery on the shelves.
She asked for book recommendations for an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old — the ages of her grandnieces.
‘Victory runs through Philly,’ Harris reminded people at the stop. ‘It runs through Pennsylvania.’
Kamala Harris hugs a baby at Freddy & Tony’s Restaurant, a locally-owned Puerto Rican restaurant in Philly
Kamala Harris takes a selfie with John Legend ahead of her rally in Philadelphia
She also told one person there: ‘I plan on putting on some pounds after this is over. They’re working me to the bone.’
And at her stop at in working class Puerto Rican neighborhood, at a restaurant called Freddy and Tony’s Restaurant, she stayed on message.
‘Nine days, and hard work is good work as we know — and we are winning,’ she said.
