Prayer and politics: Inside Bill Clinton rally for Kamala Harris
The former president said the future of the country is on the line, and it may be decided in Wisconsin.
The former president said the future of the country is on the line, and it may be decided in Wisconsin.
The former president said the future of the country is on the line, and it may be decided in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee: The crowd was small, but determined. Determined to vote for Democratic Party’s Kamala Harris in the November 5 US presidential election. It is also possible that some of them might have already voted for her with the early election system in place. Bill Clinton did not have to tell them much, still the former president spoke at length explaining why Harris, not her Republican opponent Donald J Trump, should be at the White House after November 5.
Clinton was at the Institute for Preservation of African-American Music and Arts, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Friday to address the Harris supporters, mostly black people, even as the election is only days away. Clinton got to the dais after a few speakers, including Congresswoman Gwen Moore, addressed the gathering and prayed for Harris.
Clinton said he wanted to "explain things to people" rather than giving a conventional speech. "The future of the country is on the line, and it may be decided in Wisconsin," Clinton told the crowd. Wisconsin is one of the seven swing states where both the rival parties enjoy equal support.
"I don't want anything, I'm not running for anything, but I am running for my grandchildren's future," the 42ndUS president told the crowd. "I believe that the vice-president has a better economic plan, has a better health care plan," he said.
He was highly critical of Trump throughout his speech. “If you go to a church or a mosque or a synagogue or a temple, you hear sometime during the week about the best rules for living a good life; the best rules for taking a tough problem and trying to work through it; the best rules for atoning and admitting if you did wrong; and then how to be restored to your life and your family. We hear that, and that's what has enabled our society to grow and change and still be faithful to our basic values. Donald Trump doesn't believe that,” Clinton quipped.
Taking another jibe at Trump for not accepting defeat in the 2020 election, he said: “ I am authorised to promise you that if Kamala Harris is an ex-president of the United States and you don't think she's any good and you vote against her, she will honour the vote of the people. And that is a very big deal. Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes? And we laugh because it's an absurd question, except in Trump land, where the answer is always to act with my lying eyes. Whatever you want, master, I will believe it,” he said.
The attendants this reporter spoke to ahead of the event said they were there to support Harris for presidency for several reasons.
Steicy Mau, who admitted to having switched sides several years ago and now supports the Democratic Party, said: “Just an example; yesterday Donald Trump said he will be the protector of women whether they like it or not. Women are going to elect Kamala. The biggest thing is fear for democracy, fear for women’s rights. You see women dying in the 17 states that have outlawed abortion, even in the case of rape or incest. That is going to happen all over the US. I’m voting for my daughters. I’m voting for the LGBTQ community. I’m voting because just five minutes ago, he said deporting 12 million migrants is going to be a bloody affair,” she said. Sitting next to her Laura echoed Mau’s sentiments. She said the economy, individual freedom and reproductive rights were the major issues in this election.