Vice presidential candidate rallied voters during political stop for the 2020 election season

Maddy Remington
managing editor

Deomocratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris made a historic visit to Fort Worth Oct. 30, the last day of early voting in Texas.

This is the first time a Democratic presidential  ticket member has made a visit to Tarrant County in the home stretch of the election since former President Bill Clinton in the 90s.

Harris spoke about the last day of early voting in Texas and the record nine million people who had already cast their ballots. She encouraged people to continue their commitment and their drive to see it through.

Harris said we are in the midst of four crises — first and foremost is the public health crisis that has caused more than 220,000 deaths. She sympathized with the families who have had to suffer loss because of COVID-19. Not only have millions contracted the virus, but this pandemic has disproportionately affected Black Americans and Latinos, Harris said.

Harris recognized this as the greatest mass-casualty event since World War II. The president failed to recognize the seriousness of the pandemic and handled it ineffectively by even calling it a hoax, Harris said.

She criticized the president for his response when learning of the pandemic. Harris said the pandemic has hurt the economy and even more so hurt American families who were already working to get by. She vowed that the Biden administration would work to prevent families from having to work two to three jobs to make ends meet.

“We have a country that has not made it a priority for a family to have paid sick leave and paid family leave and that will change in a Biden-Harris Administration,” Harris said.

Harris also criticized Trump for misleading the American people when they need factual information the most during this public health crisis. She spoke about how there are clear choices in this election because of the vastly different approaches to healthcare.

“Biden understands that healthcare access is a right and not just a privilege to those who can afford it,” Harris said.

Her campaign plans to expand coverage and healthcare. She criticized the Trump Administration’s lawsuit to get rid of the Affordable Care Act because there are 10 million Texans with preexisting conditions this act protects.

Harris talked about the worsening wealth gap and the growing number of people who had to file for unemployment insurance, which is now estimated at 30 million people.

Americans are in the midst of a hunger crisis — 1 in 6 households are not able to pay their rent, and small businesses are suffering because of the current economic recession that she said she compares to the Great Depression.

The criminal justice system needs reform now more than ever, Harris said, and she outlined her campaign’s plans to take steps in reforming the system that is rigged against people of color.

“We are facing a long-overdue reckoning of racial injustice in America,” Harris said.

She called out Trump for encouraging white supremacists and said Trump undermined and questioned the legitimacy of our first Black president, Barack Obama.

Biden’s first priority as president would be to restore unity and heal the divisiveness that America is facing, Harris said. Harris said she came to Texas to thank supporters and encourage people to speak up for these issues and vote.