Vice President Kamala Harris will make her closing argument to voters Tuesday evening at a Washington rally that is expected to draw as many as 40,000 supporters to the National Mall.
Harris will speak on the Ellipse lawn, framed by a view of the White House, where she hopes to live next. The Ellipse is also where her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, spoke at a now infamous Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6, 2021, before a crowd that would later attack the Capitol.
Harris will draw contrasts between herself and Trump, and encourage voters to turn the page on the era of American politics that Trump ushered in.
Just a week out from Election Day, the speech will be one of her final efforts to frame herself as the candidate of change.
Harris is working to turn the election into a referendum on the Trump era, which she will lay out as a decade of division and chaos, a senior Harris campaign official told NBC News.
The Harris campaign billed the Washington speech as the vice president’s culminating pitch for the presidency, as both candidates compete to shape voters’ defining ballot issue in the final days of the election.
As many as 40,000 people are expected to attend the rally, according to an estimate from the National Park Service, which issued the event permit. That is double the initial estimate of 20,000 people.
Both Harris and Trump are vying to convince voters that they would be a departure from the status quo, as polls regularly find respondents dissatisfied with the direction of the country.
In turn, Harris has worked to paint herself as the non-incumbent candidate who represents a new generation of American leadership — though that is a delicate balance given her current role in the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, Trump has tried to remind voters of her position as second-in-command in the current administration, capitalizing on a general mood of discontent, especially on issues like the economy and the border.
On Tuesday evening, Harris aims to address voters’ economic concerns head on and highlight her specific proposals aimed at lowering costs, strengthening the middle class and raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy, according to the campaign official.
Trump will also deliver remarks Tuesday, which his campaign billed as his final message to voters.
The two closing arguments punctuate a historic several months in American politics, during which President Joe Biden abruptly ended his reelection bid and endorsed Harris to top the Democratic ticket.
In the three months since, Harris has significantly eroded Trump’s polling advantage. She has also raised more than $1 billion, a jaw-dropping feat this late in the election cycle.
Harris has also capitalized on some key endorsements from superstars like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, along with Republicans who crossed the aisle to support her. Most visibly, former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney.
Despite the polling gains and her cash advantage, the presidential race remains a dead heat going into its final week, with polling consistently rating the candidates as tied within key battleground states and nationally.
