As the second night of the 2020 Democratic debate drew to a close, Sen. Kamala Harris evoked Hillary Clinton’s famous “3 a.m. ringing phone” ad from 2008.
She said, “This election is about you. This is about your hopes and your dreams and your fears and what wakes you up at 3 o’clock in the morning.”
“And that’s why I have what I call a ‘3 a.m. Agenda’ that is about everything from what we need to do to deliver healthcare to how you will be able to pay the bills by the end of the month,” she said. “I will be a president who leads with a sense of dignity, with honesty, speaking the truth and giving the American family all that they need to get through the end of the month in a way that allows them to be able to prosper.”
Harris’ 3 a.m. Agenda closely echoed a 2008 campaign ad Hillary Clinton used in her first presidential bid. In Clinton’s ad, the former secretary of state touted her experience in the White House as making her a more qualified candidate then Barack Obama.
With a sleeping child and a phone ringing in the background, a narrator says, “It’s 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep, but there’s a phone in the White House, and it’s ringing. Something’s happening in the world. Your vote will decide who answers that call. Whether it’s someone who already knows the world’s leaders, knows the military, someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world.”
Harris also remarked on her unique qualification to be president based on her history as a public prosecutor and California attorney general saying, “We need a nominee with the ability to prosecute the case against four more years of Donald Trump, and I will do that.”
