Harris For President Campaign
Trump Is Speaking Like Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini
By Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic
The following is an extended excerpt from Anne Applebaum’s article.
Rhetoric has a history. The words democracy and tyranny were debated in ancient Greece; the phrase separation of powers became important in the 17th and 18th centuries. The word vermin, as a political term, dates from the 1930s and ’40s, when both fascists and communists liked to describe their political enemies as vermin, parasites, and blood infections, as well as insects, weeds, dirt, and animals. The term has been revived and reanimated, in an American presidential campaign, with Donald Trump’s description of his opponents as “radical-left thugs” who “live like vermin.”
This language isn’t merely ugly or repellant: These words belong to a particular tradition. Adolf Hitler used these kinds of terms often. In 1938, he praised his compatriots who had helped “cleanse Germany of all those parasites who drank at the well of the despair of the Fatherland and the People.” In occupied Warsaw, a 1941 poster displayed a drawing of a louse with a caricature of a Jewish face. The slogan: “Jews are lice: they cause typhus.”
Stalin used the same kind of language at about the same time. He called his opponents the “enemies of the people,” implying that they were not citizens and that they enjoyed no rights. He portrayed them as vermin, pollution, filth that had to be “subjected to ongoing purification,” and he inspired his fellow communists to employ similar rhetoric.
This kind of language was not limited to Europe. Mao Zedong also described his political opponents as “poisonous weeds.” Pol Pot spoke of “cleansing” hundreds of thousands of his compatriots so that Cambodia would be “purified.”
In each of these very different societies, the purpose of this kind of rhetoric was the same. If you connect your opponents with disease, illness, and poisoned blood, if you dehumanize them as insects or animals, if you speak of squashing them or cleansing them as if they were pests or bacteria, then you can much more easily arrest them, deprive them of rights, exclude them, or even kill them. If they are parasites, they aren’t human. If they are vermin, they don’t get to enjoy freedom of speech, or freedoms of any kind. And if you squash them, you won’t be held accountable.
He [Trump] has said of immigrants, “They’re poisoning the blood of our country” and “They’re destroying the blood of our country.” He has claimed that many have “bad genes.” He has also been more explicit: “They’re not humans; they’re animals”; they are “cold-blooded killers.” He refers more broadly to his opponents—American citizens, some of whom are elected officials—as “the enemy from within … sick people, radical-left lunatics.” Not only do they have no rights; they should be “handled by,” he has said, “if necessary, National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military.”
When he suggests that he would target both legal and illegal immigrants, or use the military arbitrarily against U.S. citizens, he does so knowing that past dictatorships have used public displays of violence to build popular support. By calling for mass violence, he hints at his admiration for these dictatorships but also demonstrates disdain for the rule of law and prepares his followers to accept the idea that his regime could, like its predecessors, break the law with impunity.
Just this week, when Trump was swaying to music at a surreal rally, he did so in front of a huge slogan: Trump Was Right About Everything. This is language borrowed directly from Benito Mussolini, the Italian fascist. Soon after the rally, the scholar Ruth Ben-Ghiat posted a photograph of a building in Mussolini’s Italy displaying his slogan: Mussolini Is Always Right.
The full article by Anne applebaum is available in The Atlantic.
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Unite for America with Vice President Kamala Harris and Oprah Winfrey
September 19
Our campaign is fueled by hope, optimism, and our love of country. Momentum is on our side—and there is a lot of hard, but joyful work to do between now and Election Day. Tune in as I join my friend Oprah to discuss the issues that matter most to working families. (1:47)
YouTube Link
Scientific American Endorses Kamala Harris
The following is an excerpt from the Scientific American endorsement statement:
Vote for Kamala Harris to Support Science, Health and the Environment
Kamala Harris has plans to improve health, boost the economy and mitigate climate change. Donald Trump has threats and a dangerous record.
In the November election, the U.S. faces two futures. In one, the new president offers the country better prospects, relying on science, solid evidence and the willingness to learn from experience. She pushes policies that boost good jobs nationwide by embracing technology and clean energy. She supports education, public health and reproductive rights. She treats the climate crisis as the emergency it is and seeks to mitigate its catastrophic storms, fires and droughts.
In the other future, the new president endangers public health and safety and rejects evidence, preferring instead nonsensical conspiracy fantasies. He ignores the climate crisis in favor of more pollution. He requires that federal officials show personal loyalty to him rather than upholding U.S. laws. He fills positions in federal science and other agencies with unqualified ideologues. He goads people into hate and division, and he inspires extremists at state and local levels to pass laws that disrupt education and make it harder to earn a living.
Only one of these futures will improve the fate of this country and the world. That is why, for only the second time in our magazine’s 179-year history, the editors of Scientific American are endorsing a candidate for president. That person is Kamala Harris.
The Scientific American endorsement goes on to compare the Harris record with the Trump record in regard to health care, reproductive rights, gun safety, environment and climate, technology. It concludes with:
One of two futures will materialize according to our choices in this election. Only one is a vote for reality and integrity. We urge you to vote for Kamala Harris.
The full endorsement statement is available online.
Vote for Kamala Harris to Support Science, Health and the Environment, by the Editors,
Scientific American, September 16, 2024.
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Taylor Swift Endorses Harris
Like many of you, I watched the debate tonight. If you haven’t already, now is a great time to do your research on the issues at hand and the stances these candidates take on the topics that matter to you the most. As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can about their proposed policies and plans for this country.
Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site. It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation. It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.
I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.
I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice. Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make. I also want to say, especially to first time voters: Remember that in order to vote, you have to be registered! I also find it’s much easier to vote early. I’ll link where to register and find early voting dates and info in my story.
With love and hope,
Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady
Bush, McCain, and Romney Alumni for Harris Statement
August 26
More than 200 Republicans who worked for President George W. Bush, Senator Mitt Romney or Senator John McCain endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz in an open letter published in USA Today on August 26. The letter began with the following:
Four years ago, President George W. Bush, the late Sen. John McCain, and then-Gov. Mitt Romney alumni came together to warn fellow Republicans that re-electing President Trump would be a disaster for our nation. In those declarations we stated the plain truth, each predicting that another four years of a Trump presidency would irreparably damage our beloved democracy.
We made those announcements months before lies about a stolen election became everyday talking points and six months before Trump incited an insurrection, cheering on a mob of sore losers and sycophants as they tried to use force to overturn the will of the American public.
We reunite today, joined by new George H.W. Bush alumni, to reinforce our 2020 statements and, for the first time, jointly declare that we’re voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz this November.
The complete letter, including a list of the 238 signers, is available online.
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Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger speaks at 2024 Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
August 22, 2024
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois, spoke Thursday on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, an evening focused on the future as Kamala Harris formally accepts her party’s nomination for president. Kinzinger spoke against his party and their support of former president Donald Trump. The Republican Party is no longer conservative,” Kinzinger said. “It has switched its allegiance from the principles that gave it purpose to a man whose only purpose is himself. Donald Trump is a weak man pretending to be strong. He is a small man pretending to be big. He's a faithless man pretending to be righteous. He's a perpetrator who can't stop playing the victim.
President Biden and VP Harris Hold First Joint Event Since Biden Dropped Out of Presidential Race
Largo, Maryland
August 15, 2024
The two spoke on campaigning for lowering prescription costs on Medicare.
Tim Walz makes first solo campaign stop
Los Angeles
August 13, 2024
The campaign stop was hosted by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) during its 46th International Convention. The AFSCME is the largest trade union of public employees in the United States. It represents 1.3 million public sector employees and retirees, including health care workers, corrections officers, sanitation workers, police officers, firefighters, and childcare providers.
Tim Walz is a labor champion who personifies what public service is all about.
WASHINGTON, April 6, 2024 — AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after Vice President Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate:
Tim Walz personifies what public service is all about: Doing for others and never leaving anyone behind. He learned these values while serving in the National Guard, and he lived them as a teacher and football coach in Mankato, Minnesota. He has always been the first to lend a helping hand in his community, and today, this is how he governs – empowering worker voices and defending those who have made public service a career.
As governor, he took on billion-dollar corporations to ban private prisons in Minnesota, keeping profit motives out of the justice system while protecting the jobs of AFSCME corrections officers. He went on to pass legislation guaranteeing free breakfast and lunch for young students statewide, giving AFSCME school employees the tools they need to keep kids energized and ready to learn. Walz did all this for Minnesota’s communities while getting state workers a historic contract with across-the-board raises.
Gov. Walz shows what our communities can look like when we lead with empathy. He is a labor champion who will take pro-worker values with him to the White House. Together with Kamala Harris, they will defend our freedoms — to care for our families, to have a voice on the job, to thrive. We look forward to mobilizing the full strength of our union to ensure that this dynamic ticket wins on Nov. 5.
Kamala Harris-Tim Walz Joint Rally With UAW In Detroit
August 8, 2024
Vice President Harris and Governor Walz spoke in a United Autoworkers Union Hall in Detroit, Michigan at an event with Shawn Fain, the president of the influential United Automobile Workers union.
Gov. Tim Walz’s first speech as Kamala Harris’ running mate
Philadelphia
August 6, 2024
Kamala Harris Delivers Remarks at Sigma Gamma Rho Society Inc. Event
Houston, Texas
July 31, 2024
The American People Deserve Better!
When We Fight, We Win!
Fearless | Harris 2024
We Choose Freedom!
First Campaign TV Ad
July 25, 2024
First Presidential Rally: We Are Not Going Back!
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
July 23, 2024
VP Kamala Harris delivers remarks in Delaware after Biden's announcement
Vice President Kamala Harris is speaking from her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware just a day after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed her for president.
Biden–Harris 2024
Opening Ad in the Biden-Harris 2024 Campaign