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As Kamala Harris prepares to deliver a major speech outlining her campaign’s final arguments, she has chosen a location as potent as it is symbolic: the Ellipse, the site of the January 6th, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. This location serves as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by a potential return of former President Donald Trump to the White House.
On Tuesday evening, just one week before the election, Harris will address a crowd gathered on the 52-acre lawn between the White House and the Washington Monument. While her speech is not expected to focus solely on democracy or the threat Trump poses, the message will be impossible to ignore. Harris will speak from the very spot where Trump incited his supporters to overturn his electoral defeat, leading to a violent assault on the Capitol that resulted in nine deaths, injuries to 150 law enforcement officers, and widespread trauma.
The visual of Harris speaking from the Ellipse, a site steeped in historical significance, should remind voters that Trump’s actions on January 6th were not a normal conclusion to a presidency. It should also serve as a warning that similar events could become commonplace if he is re-elected. This provocative setting is likely to trigger a defensive response from Trump and his surrogates, who will once again defend his actions and those of his supporters. The Department of Justice has charged over 1,500 individuals for their involvement in the January 6th attack, including 571 felony cases. This response is exactly what Democrats hope to see in the final week of the campaign.
Beyond January 6th, the choice of the White House as a backdrop for Harris’s speech could also inspire voters to consider what a President from a younger generation might accomplish. This message is resonating with audiences, particularly in states where voters may not be enthusiastic about Harris but are receptive to the idea of moving past the chaos of the Trump era.
Sources within the Harris campaign, speaking anonymously to discuss sensitive planning, indicate that the event’s focus will be on the stark choice facing voters: Harris’s vision for the future versus Trump’s return to power. Trump’s ongoing efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, combined with his attempts to evade responsibility for his actions on January 6th and other criminal probes, serve as a driving force behind his bid for a second term. This stark contrast, highlighting the difference between a prosecutor and a felon, is a compelling argument for voters who expect their Presidents to uphold the law.
However, it’s important to note that a significant portion of the Republican base continues to support Trump. At the third anniversary of the January 6th attack, polls revealed that roughly three-quarters of Republicans believe it’s time to move on, including 80% of Trump supporters. There are even instances where those convicted for their actions on January 6th, including individuals who assaulted law enforcement officers with weapons, are celebrated by some within the GOP as victims of a political system. Trump has even contributed money to their legal defense funds and plays recordings of inmates singing the National Anthem at rallies, presenting their imprisonment as a sign of persecution. While this embrace of lawlessness would be disqualifying for most political parties, it has become a defining characteristic of the modern Republican Party.
As voters observe Harris speaking at the Ellipse, they will be reminded of the legal scrutiny that Trump will continue to face if he fails to regain the presidency. After a year spent portraying the investigations against him as politically motivated, Harris will directly argue that the American voters hold the power to judge Trump. This message is sure to be effective in the final weeks of the campaign, particularly as Harris has a knack for using symbolic settings to convey broader themes.
However, it remains to be seen how Trump’s supporters will react to this move, given his success in convincing many that he is a victim of a corrupt justice system. Trump’s allies have repeatedly fallen into traps set by Harris and her team, as seen during the presidential debate and at a Trump rally in Madison Square Garden. At the latter event, speakers invited by the Trump campaign made offensive and racist remarks, and Trump has failed to denounce these statements.
As history has shown, Trump prioritizes his own ego over broader goals. This is evident in his refusal to call off the January 6th mob, his absence at Joe Biden’s inauguration, and his ongoing attempts to undermine public faith in democracy. It is therefore certain that Harris’s choice of location for her major speech will provoke a strong reaction from Trump. Harris’s advisors believe this strategy will effectively highlight Trump’s worst impulses in the final week of the campaign, and history suggests that he will be unable to resist the bait.
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