In her closing remarks, Harris urges voters to reject Trump’s efforts to sow division and fear.

Kamala Harris stood in front of a packed crowd outside the White House on Tuesday and promised Americans she would fight for them every day, urging voters to reject Donald Trump’s efforts to sow discord and fear, declaring: “It doesn’t have to be this way.” “

A week before Election Day, the vice president sought to highlight the contrast with Trump, delivering her closing argument from the same spot on the grassy ellipse where the former Republican president incited the 2021 Capitol insurrection, promising she would work to improve people’s lives. arguing that her Republican opponent is only in it for his own sake.

“I’ll be honest with you: I’m not perfect,” she said. “I make mistakes. But here’s what I promise you: I will always listen to you, even if you don’t vote for me. I will always tell you the truth, even if it is difficult to hear. I will work every day to build consensus and compromise to get things done. And if you give me the chance to fight by your side, nothing in the world will stand in my way.”

Harris began her pivotal speech by reminding voters of Trump’s role in the chaos of Jan. 6, 2021, when he spewed lies about the 2020 presidential election that inspired a mob to march on the Capitol and unsuccessfully try to stop the certification of Democrat Joe Biden. victory. She talked about his threats to use the army against his political rivals and his calling those who disagree with him “enemies within.”

“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. Trump, she added, “spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other.”

“This is not a presidential candidate who thinks about how to make your life better,” she said, calling Trump a “petty tyrant” and a “wannabe dictator.”

Harris continued, “But America, I’m here tonight to say: That’s not who we are.” She added: “It doesn’t have to be this way.”

Harris has sought to use her biggest remaining stage before polls close to make a broader case for why voters should reject Trump and consider what she offers, while introducing herself to voters demanding more information.

With the White House glowing behind her, Harris encouraged the crowd to imagine different futures depending on who wins on Election Day.

“In less than 90 days, either Donald Trump or I will be in the Oval Office,” she said. “On day one, if elected, Donald Trump will walk into this office with a list of enemies. When I get elected, I will come with a list of things to do.”

Harris went on to list key policy goals, including expanding Medicare coverage of home health care, increasing the nation’s housing supply and working to restore nationwide access to abortion.

Her speech drew a huge crowd in Washington, and supporters flocked to 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 featured a lineup of ordinary Americans talking about their dreams and priorities, rather than the show of star power that has been on display at some of Harris’ recent events. They included Amanda Zurawski, a woman who nearly died of sepsis after she was denied medical care due to Texas’ strict abortion ban; Craig Sicknick, brother of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after the attack 6 January, and a resident of Pennsylvania. a husband and wife who used to vote for Trump but now support Harris.

Ruth Kyari, 78, of Charlottesville, Virginia, said she attended the rally with her husband “to support democracy.”

“I think everyone understands what this is about,” she said as she stood in line 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 Tuesday’s crowd and atmosphere with 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’s rally Sunday at Madison Square Garden in New York. where speakers made violent and racist insults.

“Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe that people who disagree with me are enemies,” Harris said. “He wants to put them in jail. I will give them a seat at my table. And I promise to be the president of all Americans. Always put the country above the party and above yourself.”

Also central to her message is positioning herself as a leader of the “new generation” after Trump and even her current boss, President Joe Biden.

“It’s time to stop pointing fingers and start clasping hands,” she said. “It’s time to turn the page on drama and conflict, fear and division. It’s time for a new generation of leaders in America. And I am ready to offer that leadership as the next President of the United States.”

She acknowledged that “many of you are still learning who I am” following her unexpected rise to the top of the Democratic ticket after Biden dropped out of the race in July, and used her remarks to try to answer voters’ curiosity.

“I recognize that this has not been a typical campaign,” Harris said, adding that she is “not afraid to go hard against bad actors and powerful interests.”

Ahead of Harris’ speech, Trump addressed reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Tuesday morning to accuse Harris of ending with a message that did not address the everyday concerns of Americans and their kitchen table. concern.

He said Harris continues to “talk about Hitler and the Nazis because her record is terrible,” hinting that Harris was amplifying her former chief of staff’s warnings that Trump spoke admiringly of the Nazi leader while in office.

Trump spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said: “His final argument to the American people is simple: Kamala broke him; he will fix it.”

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Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in Palm Beach, Florida, Ayana Alexander in Baltimore and Fatima Hussain, Chris Megerian, Dan Merica, Will Weissert, Colleen Long and Gary Fields in Washington contributed to this report.