With two weeks left before election day, Presidential Candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump had a busy weekend. On Saturday, in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump took off his suit jacket and put on his apron and handed french fries through a drive through where tons of people lined the restaurant to watch. Also In Pennsylvania, later in a rally, Donald Trump claimed that Harris was a liar for saying she worked at McDonalds, when he said that with no evidence whatsoever.
This past Weekend, Kamala Harris had multiple events lined up for her, from talking in rallies with Usher and Lizzo, to interviews, and all while celebrating her birthday. Harris celebrated her 60th birthday in Atlanta where she visited and talked at two churches:
New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, and Divine Faith Ministries International in Jonesboro. In these services she talked about her religious upbringing as a child and how they influenced her political career. Harris in this service said, "Do we have leaders in place who understand that in the face of a stranger one should see a neighbor," which emphasizes the need for unity that Harris wants to bring for the American people. She also talked about the gospel of Luke where it talks about being a good samaritan which she said, "As the good Samaritan reminds us, it is not enough to preach the values of compassion and respect. We must live with them.” This is where she reminds the American people to not only say whatever comes to mind, but actually live by what you say. This shows how Harris is deeply connected to the community of all kinds. But before her birthday, American rapper and Singer Lizzo and American singer-songwriter Usher joined her. Usher spoke about the importance of voting and how the people can make a difference, he told the people, “Let’s vote for a future!” Haris also made an appearance in Detroit with Lizzo, where Lizzo said that Detroit is the last vote Harris needed in order to win it all, where she then said that she already had voted for Harris. Lizzo also said, “If you ask me if America is ready for its first woman president, I only have one thing to say: It’s about damn time!” referring to one of her songs. 
In a rally at Lakewood Amphitheater, Harris talked about abortion laws, which she further talked about Amber Turner. Amber Turner, a 28 year old mother, with a 6 year old child died in 2022. This was due to a delay in care for a complication that occurred when she took an abortion pill. This is all due to abortion bans which Harris say, “are preventing doctors from providing basic medical care,” Harris also says, "Women are bleeding out in parking lots, turned away from emergency rooms, losing their ability to ever have children again... and now women are dying," Harris keep going back to this issue as she talked about this in September and talked about it again in her october Georgia rally. In her rally this past weekend she said that, “Donald Trump still refuses to take accountability, to take any accountability, for the pain and the suffering he has caused," She specifically said his name because Trump overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 which was the year that Amber Turner died. Harris is trying to fox all the mistakes that were had in the past, she made that clear in all the events she had this past weekend.
Sources:
- https://theatlantavoice.com/pastor-jamal-braynts-mesage-to-vp-kamala-harris-you-were-born-for-such-a-time-as-this/
- https://www.foxnews.com/politics/harris-recruits-pop-stars-usher-lizzo-swing-state-pushes-tight-race
- https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/kamala-harris-lizzo-detroit-1235805990/
- https://www.11alive.com/article/news/politics/kamala-harris-lakewood-amphitheatre-atlanta-rally/85-c950bb65-0556-44f4-ac8f-12115b59514f
- https://www.11alive.com/article/news/state/kamala-harris-statement-amber-thurman-georgia-death-abortion-ban-propublica-report/85-c57d3147-2b40-4683-8695-2ef258869d90
4 comments:
Despite a challenging campaign outcome, I think it was wise for Harris to use the final days before the election to visit churches and highlight her faith. Whether these activities were for personal reflection or a political strategy, Harris demonstrated to the public that, even if some of her policies may diverge from traditional or conservative Christian values, she embodies a different approach to faith. "As the good Samaritan reminds us, it is not enough to preach the values of compassion and respect. We must live with them," by saying this she emphasizes that religion is more than just an argument in debates, it is about love and respect for everyone (a point she has emphasized throughout her campaign) Given the election results, I would argue she could have highlighted her faith more throughout her election oppose to just the weekend before as many people felt her policies posed a threat to their religious beliefs.
It's interesting the variance in the campaigning style of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Harris has employed a lot of big-name celebrities that garner attention and help promote her to their own bases, whereas Donald Trump has the firecracker momentum of his own seemingly unstoppable personal brand, pulling ridiculous stunts that gather media coverage and oftentimes, outrage. The seeming invincibility of Trump and his brand is shocking in what would have torpedoed any other political candidate, instead, they are neck and neck even as Harris's emotional campaigning on the topic of abortion is met on the opposing side with ridicule and oftentimes silence. It is shocking that America has become this deeply divided: with two very different versions for the future, America needs to stand up and fight for some real change on both sides because I refuse to accept that this is the new permanent political climate.
I feel that it was interesting and smart of Harris to campaign in different churches and talk more about her faith. I think that this is important as it seems like a lot of the religious voters are swaying towards Trump's side. I think it was also smart that both of the two candidates decided to campaign in either Pennsylvania or Georgia as those two states might be the most important states coming into this election. I also wonder how the religious voters will react to Kamala's speeches in the church as it feels like a lot of them are pro-life. With one of Kamala's main campaign strategies being to reinstate Roe Vs. Wade I'm not sure if she will win over that many of the religious voters even after her two visits with New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and Divine Faith Ministries International
I believe that Harris made an interesting choice of choosing to visit two churches and talk about her beliefs and the beliefs she was raised with. By showing America that she is a women of faith and plans on carrying these beliefs into her campaign, she is battling the ideas that religious voters can only vote for Trump. I wonder if supporters of Trump responded to these statements positively or negatively. This would reveal that they truly don't prioritize religious beliefs, but prioritize Trump. This is the main difference between the Harris and Trump Campaign. Harris is advocating towards all groups and is pushing for a better America for all.
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