Democrat Kamala Harris warned tens of thousands of people in Washington gathered at her biggest-ever rally that her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, was seeking unchecked power as their race for the White House entered its final week.
Harris spoke on Tuesday evening at an outdoor rally estimated by her campaign to number more than 75,000 people near the White House, where, on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump addressed his supporters before they attacked the US Capitol.
A group of pro-Palestinian protesters were ejected from the crowd at the beginning of the rally.
Other protesters continued interrupting Harris’s remarks, chanting “arms embargo now.” Harris did not acknowledge the protesters or stop her speech.
“We know who Donald Trump is,” Harris said, adding the former president “sent an armed mob” to the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
“This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power,” Harris said during her campaign’s closing argument before a tightly contested Nov. 5 election.
Harris was flanked by American flags on stage and surrounded by blue and white banners that said “FREEDOM” with the lit-up White House in the background.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed that Harris’ lead among registered voters had eroded to just 44% to 43%.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.
January 6 riot
Trump and his allies have sought to play down the violence of Jan. 6.
Thousands of his supporters stormed the Capitol, sending lawmakers fleeing for their lives and chanting “Hang Mike Pence” the vice president, after Trump’s address on the Ellipse, where as president he told the crowd to “fight like hell” to prevent Pence and Congress from ratifying his loss.
Four people died in the ensuing riot at the Capitol, and one police officer who defended the Capitol died the following day. Trump has said that if reelected, he would pardon the more than 1,500 participants who have been charged with crimes.
Hannah Sarisohn contributed to this report.
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