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A week before Election Day, Vice President Harris used the spot where her opponent held his Jan. 6, 2021 rally to give a sweeping speech laying out her priorities and excoriating her opponent for his character and past actions.

Delivering the closing argument of her campaign, with the White House illuminated in the background, Harris said it’s time to move on from the divisive and chaotic era of her opponent, former President Donald Trump.

“America: this is not a candidate for president who is thinking about how to make your life better. This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power,” Harris said.

The event was far from any swing state. But it was aimed at creating the kind of big moment that could break through to what campaign operatives call “low propensity” voters who aren’t usually all that interested in politics — and to convince them to cast a ballot.

More than 40,000 people went through security for the event, Harris’ campaign said, with many more outside the perimeter.

Harris highlighted Trump’s ‘enemies list’

On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump held a rally on the Ellipse, with the White House in the background, telling his supporters to “fight like hell” on the day Congress was meeting to certify that President Biden had won the election.

“Look, we know who Donald Trump is,” Harris said. “He is the person who stood at this very spot nearly four years ago and sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election — an election that he knew he lost.”

In contrast, Harris pledged she would “seek common ground” and listen “to people who disagree with me.”

Some Democrats have worried Harris’ warnings about Trump are not enough to get across the finish line in a very tight race where voters rank economic concerns as their top priority.

Harris acknowledged voters are still getting to know her

Harris sought to use the speech to recap her promises and values, saying she recognized that “this has not been a typical campaign” — a nod to the fact that President Biden sitting in the White House behind her had stepped down this summer from his bid for a second term after a catastrophic debate against Trump. 

“I know that many of you are still getting to know who I am,” she said, describing her middle-class upbringing and career as a prosecutor.

“There’s something about people being treated unfairly or overlooked that, frankly, just gets to me. I don't like it,” she said.

Harris touched on two hot-button issues of the campaign in her remarks — abortion rights and border security.

She sought to separate her policies from those of Biden, saying she would bring her own ideas to the job, and would focus on lowering costs for groceries, prescription drugs, homes, child care and elder care.

“Donald Trump’s answer to you is the same as it was the last time: another trillion dollars in tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations, and this time, he will pay for it with a 20 percent national sales tax on everything you buy that is imported,” she said, describing Trump’s pledge to hike tariffs.

NPR's Asma Khalid contributed to this story.

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A week before Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris used the backdrop to lay out the case for turning the page on the divisive and chaotic politics of her Republican opponent.

At the site of Trump’s Jan. 6 rally, Harris makes her closing pitch for the campaign

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