Democratic nominee Kamala Harris warned US voters against her Republican rival Donald Trump's bid to seize ‘unchecked power’ as the neck-and-neck race for the White House entered its last week.
Harris hosted a rally, estimated by her campaign to be attended by more than 75,000 people, at the Ellipse - the exact spot near the White House where Trump addressed his supporters before they attacked the US Capitol leading to deadly riots on January 6, 2021.
"We know who Donald Trump is," Harris said at the rally on October 29 evening which her campaign termed her ‘concluding’ argument before the November 5 US Election Day.
The former president ‘sent an armed mob’ to the Capitol in an attempt to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election, Harris was quoted as saying by US media and agencies
"This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power," said the US Vice President flanked by American flags on stage with a banner reading ‘Freedom’ with the lit-up White House in the background.
The Ellipse, sometimes referred to as President's Park South, is the same spot in Washington wherehosted his infamous ‘Stop the Steal’ rally on January 6, 2021.
Trump had infamously alleged voter fraud at this event while urging supporters to fight. Hundreds of his supporters then stormed the US Capitol indulging in deadly arson and rioting in what many call an attempted self-coup d'état two months after Trump’s defeat in US Election 2020.
Harris' campaign chose the Ellipse in a direct attempt to remind voters of the chaos caused by Trump's attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.
"But America, I am here tonight to say, that's not who we are," Harris told the gathering that extended far beyond the Ellipse, across the Mall and all the way up to the iconic Washington Monument according to French news agency AFP.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed that Harris' lead had eroded to just 44 per cent to 43 per cent among registered voters. Harris has led Trump in every Reuters/Ipsos poll since she entered the race in July, but her advantage has steadily shrunk since late September.
At the Tuesday rally, Harris compared her vision for the country with Trump's ‘lies’ about the 2020 election, and the risks she says his return to the White House would pose for the nation, US media reported.
"One week from today, you will have the chance to make a decision that directly impacts the life of you, your family, and the future of this country we love. It will probably be the most important vote you ever cast... This election is about the choice of having a country rooted in freedom for every American or ruled by chaos and division," Harris said at the rally.
This was Harris’ first major campaign speech outdoors in Washington as most of the big rallies this year have been in arenas or stadiums in battleground states.
As many as 50 million people have already cast their ballots in early voting as the last days of the campaign is expected to witness both Trump and Harris indulged in a final swing through the battleground states.
(With inputs from AFP and Reuters)
