Harris warns of dangers of another Trump presidency at Jan 6 speech site

WASHINGTON - Democrat Kamala Harris warned tens of thousands of people gathered in Washington at her biggest rally that her Republican opponent Donald Trump was seeking unchecked power as their race for the White House entered its final week.

Ms Harris spoke on the evening of Oct 29 at an outdoor rally estimated by her campaign to number more than 75,000 people at the spot near the White House where, on Jan 6, 2021, Trump addressed his supporters before

they attacked the US Capitol

.

“We know who Donald Trump is,” she said.

She said the then President sent an “armed mob” to the US Capitol to try 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,” Ms Harris said during what her campaign called her closing argument before a tightly contested Nov 5 presidential election.

More than 53 million Americans have already voted in the election, according to Election Hub at the University of Florida, in a battle that will decide who runs the world’s richest and most powerful country for four years.

Ms Harris was flanked by American flags on stage and surrounded by blue and white banners that said “FREEDOM” with a well-lit White House behind her.

The crowd included older people and college students, people from overseas, from New York and from nearby Virginia. Many women came in groups with other female friends.

“It’s important that we do not go back to the horrible past policies under president Trump,” said Mr Saul Schwartz, a former federal worker from Alexandria, Virginia.

“She is everything that I always wanted in a president. She is joyous. She is real, she is powerful. And she is a woman,” said Ms Danielle Hoffmann from Staten Island, New York.

“It’s time for you guys... to take a backseat because we’re driving right now,” she said, addressing men in general. Her husband, she noted, is a Trump supporter.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Oct 29 showed that Ms Harris’ lead had eroded to just 44 per cent to 43 per cent among registered voters.

She has led Trump in every Reuters/Ipsos poll since she entered the race in July, but her advantage has steadily shrunk since late September.

Trump and his allies have sought to play down the violence of Jan 6, 2021.

Thousands of his supporters stormed the Capitol

,

sending lawmakers fleeing for their lives and chanting “Hang Mike Pence”, who was Trump’s vice-president, after Trump’s address on the Ellipse, where as president he told the crowd to “fight like hell” to prevent Mr 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 re-elected, he would pardon the more than 1,500 participants who have been charged with crimes.

“We have to stop pointing fingers and start locking arms,” Ms Harris told the Washington crowd on Oct 29, and urged Americans to put divisions behind them.

Earlier in Florida, Trump tried to move on from

racist and other vulgar remarks made by speakers at his rally

in New York City on Oct 27.

He did not comment on the remarks made by speakers at the event, where a comedian called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and disparaged black Americans, Jewish people, Palestinians and Latinos.

Trump’s campaign had said previously that the comments about Puerto Rico did not reflect the former president’s views, but Trump on Oct 29 called the New York event “an absolute lovefest” and said he was honoured to be involved.

President Joe Biden drew ire from Trump’s campaign for remarks he made about the Oct 27 rally during a fund-raising call on Oct 29.

According to a transcript posted by a White House spokesperson on X, Mr Biden said: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s – his – his demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”

Several news organisations cited the same quote but without the apostrophe.

Mr Biden later posted on X “Earlier today, I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage – which is the only word I can think of to describe it. His demonisation of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.”

Courting Hispanic voters

As Ms Harris spoke in Washington, Trump visited a heavily Hispanic city in Pennsylvania, two days after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s comments about Puerto Rico drew outrage at the New York rally.

Puerto Ricans are the largest Hispanic group in Pennsylvania, the most crucial battleground state to win as it holds the highest number of Electoral College votes of the septet, according to the Census Bureau.

“I’d like to begin with a very, very simple question: Are you better off now than you were four years ago? I’m here today with a message of hope for all Americans,” Trump said.

Ms Harris, who would be the first female president, and Trump, seeking a return to office after his 2017-21 term, diverge on support for Ukraine and Nato, abortion rights, taxes, basic democratic principles, and tariffs that could trigger trade wars.

On tariffs, Trump on Oct 29 explicitly mentioned the European Union.

“They’re brutal,” he said in Pennsylvania. “They sell millions and millions of cars in the United States. No, no, no, they are going to have to pay a big price.” REUTERS