PHILADELPHIA- Vice President Kamala Harris’ 20th visit to Pennsylvania included a busy day of campaigning in the state’s largest Democratic stronghold. In an attempt to boost support among her base, Harris also talked about a new policy proposal focusing on Puerto Rico during a stop at the Puerto Rican restaurant Freddy and Tony’s Restaurant.
“Philly, we have nine days, nine days to do this,” Harris said during an afternoon rally at the Alan Horwitz Sixth Man Center. Several thousand people gathered at a youth basketball facility in Northwest Philadelphia to hear remarks from Harris, Philadelphia’s first Black mayor, Cherelle Parker, and state House Speaker Joanna McClinton, the first Black woman to hold that title. “And for the next nine days, no one can sit on the sidelines.”
Harris, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, said her campaign has focused on “coalition building” from the beginning. Her visit to Philadelphia on Sunday placed particular emphasis on black and Latino voters, two demographic groups key to winning the city and state.
Harris described the “opportunity economy” in Puerto Rico – she announced earlier in the day on social media to meet at Freddy and Tony’s restaurant. On Sunday evening, the post was already shared by prominent Puerto Rican stars: Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin.
“It’s about ensuring people have access to opportunity, knowing that people in all communities – in all communities – yes, they want jobs, but they want to have the opportunity to build wealth,” she said, according to summary reports. “They want to be able to build intergenerational wealth, own homes, and grow small businesses, right? That’s why I call it the opportunity economy. “I mentioned this morning that I intend to create an Opportunity Economy Task Force in Puerto Rico.”
She said the task force will focus on bringing economic opportunities to the Puerto Rican island and addressing ongoing problems with Puerto Rico’s electric grid, according to basin reports.
Philadelphia has the second largest population of Puerto Ricans in the United States among American cities, it is second only to New York, according to 2020 census. Center for Puerto Rican Studies reported that as of 2019, nearly 500,000 Puerto Ricans live in Pennsylvania, making it the state with the third largest population in the country.
Harris and Trump, however, did not discuss Puerto Rico in detail during previous campaign appearances in Pennsylvania some Republicans used the discussion about Puerto Rican statehood as a campaign issue and as a reason to vote against Democrats.
Trump’s campaign aimed to win over Latino voters in Pennsylvania, including the opening of a Latinos for Trump office in Reading.
Polls conducted throughout the cycle show this Trump continued to gain popularity among Latino votersalthough Harris still maintains the lead.
During Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made disparaging remarks about Puerto Rico that quickly went viral on social media.
“I don’t know if you know this, but right now there is literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” Hinchcliffe said. which was met with “sounds of applause and jeers,” as he reports NBC News. Trump campaign officials reportedly responded by saying that “this joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”
Harris, who arrived in Philadelphia slow Saturday, began her Sunday morning attending services at the Church of Christian Compassion in West Philadelphia. There, according to pool reports, she talked about lessons she learned as a little girl at the church she attended in Oakland, California.
Harris then stopped by the nearby Philly Cuts barbershop to talk to youthful black men and community leaders. During that speech, she emphasized the need to recruit and retain more Black teachers “because we know the benefits to society as a whole,” according to summary reports. This idea is part of it economic agenda centered on black men that Harris announced earlier this month.
During the 2020 election, Joe Biden received significant support from Black voters, although it was greater among women than among men. National exit polls shows that 90% of Black women voted for Biden over then-President Donald Trump, and 79% of Black men voted for Biden. Recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that Trump is gaining popularity among Latino and black voters. The The Trump campaign also held a number of events throughout the year with the intention of winning over black voters in Philadelphia.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat representing Georgia, told reporters in Philadelphia on Oct. 23 that he believed Harris would still win the votes of Black men.
“Let me say that the vice president has always been focused on black men, just as she has been focused on other parts of our coalition, and I have heard reports of black men jumping on the Trump bandwagon. “I don’t think we’re going to see large numbers of black men voting for Donald Trump,” Warnock told reporters. “I think part of what’s going on is we’re trying to make a mod with the hope that people will now go for it.”
Warnock added that black men are not a monolith, saying there will be some who will vote for Trump, but emphasized his belief that Trump’s values ”are not in line with ours.”
Before Harris’ events on Sunday, the Trump campaign described the vice president’s visit as an “eleventh-hour change” that resulted in a “stench of desperation.”
“As Kamala spends her precious little time rallying Democratic voters just nine days before Election Day, it is clear that Pennsylvanians are preparing to reject another four years of unrestricted illegal immigration, rising prices and rising crime under Kamala, and instead, vote for peace, prosperity and stability under President Donald J. Trump,” said Trump campaign spokeswoman Kush Desai.
On Sunday, Harris also made a brief visit to Hakim’s Bookstore and Gift Shop, an African-American-themed bookstore that stocks books about Africa, civil rights icons and slavery, according to summary reports.
“We’re going to do it. Victory runs through Philadelphia. It runs all the way across Pennsylvania,” Harris said at the bookstore, according to pool reports.
Parker, the city’s 100th mayor, joined Harris for much of the campaign Sunday.
Parker pointed to another key element of the current Democratic coalition: the Southeastern Commonwealth.
“Guess the difference between the 2016 vote and the 2020 vote.” Parker said during the afternoon rally. “More people showed up to vote in Philadelphia and neighboring counties.”
She mentioned the Philadelphia counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery by name and stated that “southeastern Pennsylvania is stronger together.”
McClinton cited Harris’ recent performances in Delaware County for CNN Town Hall ia Republicans at a Harris event in Bucks County as proof that the campaign recognizes the importance of the region.
“This is very important because we understand that while our state is beautiful and wonderful and diverse and they are working everywhere to get the vote out, this part of the state has a dense voting population and as a result, in many cases, the person who wins in these counties, she will be the one to carry the victory,” McClinton told the Capital-Star.
Ray and Margie Willis, who live in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood, saw Harris speak at a church service and rally on Sunday.
When asked what issues were most vital to them in the upcoming election, Ray Willis told the Capital-Star “women’s rights and civil rights,” and Margie Willis added “jobs and housing.”
Ray Willis said he was confident about Harris’ chances, given that he believed “a lot of women would come forward.” Polls show Harris leading among women voters, while Trump leads among men.
During the rally, Harris was interrupted by a protester shouting about the Gaza Strip.
“I want to talk about Gaza for a moment,” Harris said in response. “We can and must take this opportunity to end this war and bring the hostages home.”
“And I will do everything in my power to achieve this goal,” she added.
Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes make it the biggest swing state this year. Trump was last in the state on Saturday for a rally in State College. He plans to return on Tuesday to participate in roundtable discussions in suburban Philadelphia and a rally in the Lehigh Valley.
Randyll Butler, a Philadelphia youth basketball coach, opened for Harris at a rally on Sunday. She said the nation needed a “role model for all of us” and that “we need the most valuable player, the MVP”, followed by “MVP” chants.
“This is the fourth quarter,” Butler said. “This race is neck and neck. “We can’t tire ourselves, we can’t become complacent, we all need to get out there and talk to our families and friends and sometimes the other side about what’s at stake.”
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