Harris will give closing remarks at the Ellipse

ZEKE MILLER AP White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris promised on Tuesday to “put the country above the party and above himself” in final argument his presidential campaign, broadcasting his message from the same website where Donald Trump kindled That Capitol insurrectionto highlight the stark choices voters face.

One week until Election DayThe vice president used an address from a grassy ellipse outside the White House to promise Americans that she would work to improve their lives, while asserting that her Republican opponent He’s doing this only for himself.

Trump “spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other: This is who he is,” Harris said. “But America, I’m here tonight to say: That’s not who we are.”

She tried to enhance this contrast by delivering her keystone speech with Trump’s place January 6, 2021spewed lies about the 2020 presidential election that inspired a mob to march to the Capitol and unsuccessfully try to stop the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.

“Look, we know who Donald Trump is. This is the man who stood in this very spot almost four years ago and sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election,” she said.

Harris did not deliver a treatise on democracy, a centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s efforts to contrast with Trump. Instead, she sought to make a broader case for why voters should reject Trump and consider what she offers, and encouraged the crowd to visualize their different futures hanging in the balance on Election Day.

“He has a list of enemies that he intends to bring to justice,” Harris said. “He says one of his top priorities is the release of violent extremists who attacked law enforcement officers on January 6. Donald Trump intends to use the US military against American citizens who simply disagree with him. He calls people “enemies from within.” This is not a presidential candidate who thinks about how to make your life better.”

Her campaign brought a huge crowd to Washington for the event, with the crowd pouring under the Washington Monument on the National Mall. More importantly, her campaign hopes the environment will help reach voters in states who are still on the fence about who to vote for—or whether to vote at all.

Ahead of Harris’ speech, her campaign has drawn up a lineup of speakers drawn from ordinary Americans, rather than the star power that has been featured at some of her recent events or the parade of elected officials that often features on the Washington agenda. They included Amanda Zurawski, a woman who nearly died of sepsis after she was denied medical care due to Texas’ strict abortion ban, and Craig Sicknick, brother of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after the attack January 6.

Ruth Kyari, 78, of Charlottesville, Virginia, attended the pro-democracy rally with her husband.

“I think everyone understands what’s on the ballot,” she said as she stood in line outside the Treasury building to get into the event. “We will either have an autocrat or freedom.”

Kathleen Nicholas, 36, a government relations worker in Washington, recalled Jan. 6 and liked the contrast of the crowd and atmosphere that day. “I love that she chose this location for her closing,” she said. “Having something that directly contrasts with that day is what we needed.”

With time running out and the race tight, Harris and Trump were both looking for big moments to try to swing the tide in their favor.

The address came days after Harris traveled to Texas, a staunchly Republican state, to appear with megastar Beyoncé and highlight the consequences for women after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. It was also a speech designed to register voters in distant battleground states.

The Vice President’s latest address has been in the works for several weeks. But aides hoped her message would have more impact after Trump rally on Sunday at Madison Square Garden in New York, where speakers made violent and racist insults. Harris said the event “underscored what I’ve been emphasizing throughout this campaign.”

“He is focused and actually fixated on his grievances, on himself and on dividing our country,” she said.