‘Not who we are’: Harris seeks finish line push at crowded US capital rally

Washington, DC – It was United States Democratic statesmanlike campaigner Kamala Harris’s “closing argument” to the nation, 1 last large entreaty to voters earlier the November 5 predetermination day.

And it took spot successful a highly symbolic venue: the Ellipse, a parkland conscionable southbound of the White House successful Washington, DC.

Less than 4 years earlier – connected January 6, 2021 – the Ellipse had been the tract of a antithetic code from Harris’s Republican rival, then-President Donald Trump. There, helium whipped up mendacious fears of predetermination fraud, starring thousands of his supporters to attack the US Capitol successful an effort to forestall the certification of the 2020 election.

That discord, Harris told the sprawling crowds connected Tuesday, was the other of what she would bring to the White House if elected.

“Tonight, I volition talk to everyone astir the prime and the stakes successful this election,” Vice President Harris said. “We cognize who Donald Trump is.”

“He is the idiosyncratic who stood astatine this precise spot astir 4 years agone and sent an equipped mob to the United States capitol to overturn the volition of the radical successful a escaped and just election.”

That symbolism was the defining connection of the night, and the centrepiece of a code meant to beryllium an exclamation constituent astatine the extremity of an atypically little campaign.

“It is simply a prime astir whether we person a state rooted successful state for each American oregon ruled by chaos oregon division,” Harris said.

Supporters be a run lawsuit for Democratic statesmanlike nominee Kamala Harris connected October 29 [Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters]

With precisely seven days earlier Election Day, it remains unclear whether Harris’s connection volition beryllium capable to springiness her the borderline implicit Trump, with whom she is locked successful a choky race. Polls person shown the candidates stay cervix and cervix some nationally and successful a fistful of cardinal swing states.

With astatine slightest 50 cardinal voters having already formed their ballots, the result is mostly seen arsenic a toss-up.

‘Very anxious and connected edge’

But among the assemblage astatine Harris’s rally, her astir ardent supporters expressed steadfast – if anxious – optimism.

“We’re 1 week retired but I ever say, ‘All hands connected deck’,” said Lauanna Lison, a 60-year-old subject retiree who was among the thousands who spilled from the Ellipse onto the gaping tract successful beforehand of the Washington Monument.

“I’m excited, precise excited, for Kamala Harris to go the archetypal pistillate president,” she added. “We’re present to amusement this has been a run of joy, and we are not going back.”

Luci Garza, a 19-year-old pupil astatine George Washington University successful Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera she is “obviously been precise anxious and connected borderline astir this election”.

She noted that, successful her location authorities of Texas, a batch rides connected the outcome, with migration and termination rights among the apical predetermination issues.

Harris Supporter Luci Garza says she is acrophobic astir a 2nd Trump presidency [Joseph Stepansky/Al Jazeera]

“This predetermination is truthful important to maine arsenic a woman, arsenic a Latina, arsenic a Texan,” Garza said.

“But coming retired present and seeing each of these radical dancing and excited, it’s bully to spot determination are radical who bash care, and bash amusement up and bash privation to beryllium human.”

Speaking to the crowd, Harris revisited the argumentation proposals that person defined her little campaign, which began successful July aft President Joe Biden dropped retired of the race.

She pledged to make an economical argumentation aimed astatine the mediate class, with a prohibition connected terms gouging, efforts to boost the lodging marketplace and fiscal enactment for caller parents.

She besides promised to support the Affordable Care Act, a instrumentality that has expanded wellness security for US residents, portion expanding Medicare to screen location care.

On termination rights, she reaffirmed her volition to motion a national measure protecting entree if 1 were to onshore connected her desk.

Still, passim her speech, Harris repeatedly returned to the taxable of Trump, repeating the stark warnings that person defined the last weeks of her campaign.

“This is idiosyncratic who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and retired for unchecked power,” Harris said, invoking Trump’s caller notation to governmental opponents arsenic the “enemy within”.

“The information that idiosyncratic disagrees with america does not marque them the force within,” she said. “They are chap Americans, and arsenic Americans, we emergence supra together.”

‘People coming together’

Fifty-year-old protagonist Jason Vaughn, a caregiver practitioner from North Carolina, said helium hoped Harris’s much unifying connection would link with the voters who stay connected the obstruction successful the election.

Jason Vaughn, a Harris supporter, wears a ‘White Dudes for Harris’ chapeau [Joseph Stepansky/Al Jazeera]

Vaughn pointed retired that Trump precocious sparked outrage with a rally astatine Madison Square Garden successful New York connected Sunday, during which a comedian compared Puerto Rico with a “floating land of garbage”.

Trump has since brushed off the fallout, telling reporters connected Tuesday that the play rally was “beautiful” and “an implicit emotion fest”.

Vaughn, however, said that Tuesday’s Harris rally offered a stark opposition to the Madison Square Garden event.

“The quality betwixt this and the Trump rally? This is astir fellowship, radical coming together,” said Vaughn, who wore a “White Dudes for Harris” hat.

“I deliberation she’s got the momentum close now.”

He predicted that the Madison Square Garden rally could wounded Trump successful the last agelong of the race.

Trump was successful the cardinal plaything authorities of Pennsylvania connected Tuesday, visiting the municipality of Drexel Hill, wherever helium warned that the state was “being destroyed by incompetent fools”.

“I deliberation the achromatic guys are divided close now,” said Vaughn. “There’s a batch of misogyny, a batch of bravado, and my connection is, you don’t person to beryllium that mode to beryllium a man.”

‘A batch of reservations’

But portion Harris’s soaring code successful Washington, DC was meant to beryllium a show of governmental power, it besides testified to her governmental vulnerabilities.

From the periphery of the event, a pro-Palestine protestation could beryllium heard from the street.

Such protests person been comparatively communal astatine Harris’s events, and they underscore the continued outrage implicit the Democrat’s continued enactment of Israel amid its war connected Gaza and now, Lebanon.

Harris has refused to perpetrate to stopping arms shipments to Israel oregon placing conditions connected subject aid, if elected. She has, however, said that a ceasefire indispensable beryllium reached.

That presumption has threatened to erode her enactment among Arab, Muslim and progressive groups alike, which could beryllium peculiarly damaging successful the plaything authorities of Michigan, which boasts a ample Arab American population.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Sumaiya Hamdami, a 62-year-old prof from Maryland, said she has wrestled with voting for Harris, contempt being a “lifelong Democrat”.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators clasp signs extracurricular the Kamala Harris rally successful Washington, DC, connected October 29 [Carlos Barria/Reuters]

She said she formed an “uncommitted” ballot during the superior play to protestation the Biden-Harris administration’s stance connected the conflict. Biden was inactive the Democratic campaigner astatine the time.

“Obviously, I person a batch of reservations astir voting for this candidate, due to the fact that she hasn’t had the quality and doesn’t look inclined to bash anything” to chopped disconnected limb shipments to Israel, Hamdami said.

“But I deliberation the alternate is simply a batch worse, truthful present I am.”

Others successful the assemblage indicated that their fears of a 2nd Trump presidency led them to enactment Harris.

“We’re feeling frightened but hopeful,” said Marsha Tripp, a 73-year-old retired occupational therapist from Ohio. “If Trump were to win, it would conscionable beryllium a disaster.”

Kamala Harris supporters question flags arsenic they ticker her ‘closing argument’ code from the National Mall successful Washington, DC, connected October 29 [Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters]

Harris finished the code with a pledge that she would beryllium a antithetic president than Biden.

Still, she sought to hammer location a akin taxable to Biden’s connection during the 2020 race: unity.

“Here’s my committedness to you,” Harris said.

“I volition ever perceive to you, adjacent if you didn’t ballot for me. I volition ever archer the truth, adjacent if it’s hard to hear. I enactment each time to physique statement and scope compromise to get things done. And if you springiness maine the accidental to combat connected your behalf, determination is thing successful the satellite that volition basal successful my way.”