Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to make closing arguments to voters Tuesday night at a rally in Washington where up to 40,000 supporters are expected to gather on the National Mall.
Harris will speak on the Oval Lawn, surrounded by views of the White House, where she hopes to live next. The oval is also where her Republican opponent Donald Trump addressed the crowd that would later storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021, at the now infamous Stop the Steal rally. be.
Harris will contrast herself with Trump and encourage voters to turn the page on the era of American politics ushered in by Trump.
The speech, coming just a week after Election Day, will be one of his final efforts to position himself as a candidate for change.
Prior to her keynote address, Harris will conduct five local news interviews Tuesday with voters in battleground states including Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Harris campaign officials told NBC News that Harris is working to turn this election into a referendum on the Trump era, which she plans to describe as a decade of division and turmoil.
Harris’ campaign has billed the speech in Washington as the vice president’s climactic pitch for the presidency, as both candidates compete to shape the deciding voting issue for voters in the final days of the election.
Up to 40,000 people are expected to attend the rally, according to estimates from the National Park Service, which issued the event permit. This is double the original estimate of 20,000 people.
Both Harris and Trump are struggling to convince voters of a departure from the status quo, as polls regularly show respondents dissatisfied with the direction of the country.
Harris, meanwhile, has sought to portray herself as a non-incumbent candidate who represents a new generation of American leaders, a delicate balance given her current role in the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, President Trump is capitalizing on the general mood of discontent, especially on issues such as the economy and the border, to remind voters of his position as the current administration’s second-in-command.
Campaign officials said Tuesday evening that Harris would address voters’ economic concerns head-on, emphasizing concrete proposals aimed at cutting costs, strengthening the middle class and raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy. He says he is aiming for it.
President Trump is also scheduled to give a speech on Tuesday, which his campaign is calling his final message to voters.
The two closing arguments capped a historic few months in American politics, when President Joe Biden abruptly ended his re-election bid and endorsed Harris as the top Democratic candidate.
In the three months since then, Ms. Harris has significantly eroded Mr. Trump’s lead in the polls. She has also raised more than $1 billion, an amazing feat this late in the election cycle.
Harris also leveraged significant support from superstars like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, as well as Republicans who crossed the aisle to support her. Most notably, former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney.
Despite her rise in the polls and her financial advantage, the presidential race remains hotly contested in its final weeks, with polls showing the candidates tied in key battleground states and nationally. It has consistently received positive reviews.
