Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, plans to encourage Americans to turn the page on Donald Trump in her final campaign speech on Tuesday. This speech will be held at the symbolic site where Trump rallied his supporters before the January 6th, 2021, Capitol riot.
In the final week leading up to Election Day, with Harris and Trump neck-and-neck in the polls, her campaign has selected this location to underscore her position that the former Republican president threatens American democracy. However, a senior campaign official noted that Harris also intends to deliver an “optimistic and hopeful message” amid some concerns within the Democratic Party that her focus on Trump has overshadowed her own policy agenda.
Turning the Page
Harris is set to address around 20,000 supporters at the Ellipse, just outside the White House, where Trump gave his incendiary speech claiming he won the 2020 election. Following Trump’s speech, his supporters stormed the Capitol to halt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, leading to the deaths of at least five people and injuries to 140 law enforcement officers.
In a campaign statement, Harris, a former attorney general, is expected to deliver her “closing argument,” stating that it’s time to “move beyond Trump” and “chart a new course forward.”
Trump, at 78, is the oldest presidential candidate in U.S. history. He plans to downplay Harris’s rally with remarks from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, followed by an address to supporters in Allentown, Pennsylvania—a key battleground state expected to play a pivotal role in the election outcome. Over the weekend, Trump held his closing rally at Madison Square Garden in New York, where some speakers used language widely condemned as racially and gender offensive.
Harris, who took over the Democratic nomination from Joe Biden in July, has vowed that America “will not go backward.” Recently, she has increasingly focused on Trump’s disparaging rhetoric toward immigrants and his stance on abortion.
In her upcoming speech, Harris is anticipated to contrast Trump’s approach with her own by stating that, if elected, Trump will focus on a “list of enemies,” while her administration will prioritize a “to-do list” to reduce Americans’ living costs.
Symbolism of the Location
Harris, the first Black and Asian American vice president in U.S. history, will stand just steps from the White House, which her campaign has described as a symbol of the presidential unity and power she aims to represent. She will also remind Americans of the dark events of January 6, 2021, when Trump’s refusal to accept the election results nearly brought the nation to civil unrest.
The Harris campaign says she will take this message from her Ellipse speech on a tour through key battleground states during the election’s final week, aiming to strengthen support where the race remains tight.
