She then returned to some of her unifying messages from Tuesday evening’s speech: “As president of the United States, I will be a president for all Americans. Whether you vote for me or not. It’s my responsibility. And that’s the kind of work I’ve done my whole career. And I take it very seriously.“

And while we don’t dismiss these criticisms as something unforeseen or unscripted, the amplification of these comments by the Harris campaign’s social media team reveals that it was absolutely intentional.

It was a unique opportunity for Harris to pit Trump against Joe Biden and appeal to a moderate faction of Republicans she clearly sees as a critical voting bloc to win this election. And, of course, Trump regularly trashes America and Americans with crude broadsides, which get a pass from his supporters because, of course, that’s what’s happening. If you want a “both sides” argument, tune in to MSNBC – you will get what you are looking for in very large volumes.

It’s a Sister Souljah moment, handed to her on a silver platter, to which she deserves credit for taking the more questionable option of ignoring the firestorm entirely (which would be totally wrong .) In a brief statement, Harris demonstrated the independent thinking and reach-across-the-aisle approach she spoke of during her closing remarks.

What exactly is a Sister Souljah moment?

During a 1992 interview with The Washington Postthe rapper spoke hyperbolically about violence in the hip hop community and the power structures of the time. “If black people kill black people every day, why not spend a week killing white people? » she said, which caused a firestorm at the time. Then-candidate Bill Clinton surprised many by not sharing his broader assessment. Instead, he made a distinction, condemning his remarks to Jesse Jackson and saying, “If you took the words ‘white’ and ‘black’ and reversed them, you might think David Duke was giving this speech.

Political pundits at the time saw it as a pivotal moment in the 1992 election, which he ultimately won. Thus, the “Sister Souljah Moment” was born and has been used effectively by many politicians since. John McCain distanced himself from the televangelist Jerry Falwell in 2000, and president Barack Obama did the same when he called the Reverend. Jeremiah Wright.

Kamala Harris had three options to face the garbage garbage: 1) ignore the comments out of respect for Biden, 2) follow the White House’s lead by misrepresenting what Biden actually said, or 3) confront them and argue that it’s time to move beyond of this kind of rhetoric, arguing that she intends to serve as president to all Americans, even to Trump supporters who have been insulted in the past deplorable. She was wise to opt for the third option.

It was a unifying and courageous journey. With just six days remaining in a neck-and-neck race, this could very well have saved his campaign.

This is an opinion article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author alone.