Harris to Give Election Speech at National Mall

Vice President Kamala Harris will make her case to the American public in a speech on the National Mall next Tuesday, just one week before Election Day.

The event will center on contrasting herself with former President Donald Trump, aiming to deliver a message deriding Trump while speaking on important national issues.

According to sources familiar with the campaign's plans and a permit obtained by The Washington Post, Harris will use this platform to contrast herself with former President Donald Trump and focus on what she describes as his "threats to American democracy."

While the Harris campaign is still refining the speech's content, it is expected to address broad national concerns, including Trump's involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. However, campaign insiders, speaking anonymously to The Washington Post and discussing details that have not been made public, said the speech will not solely focus on that incident.

Harris has consistently campaigned on what she calls the former president's disregard for democratic principles, and her rhetoric on this topic has intensified in the campaign's final weeks.

"The American people are, at this point, two weeks out, being presented with a very, very serious decision about what will be the future of our country," Harris told NBC News earlier this week. "And it includes whether we are a country that values a president who respects their duty to uphold the Constitution of the United States."

While a spokesperson for the Harris campaign declined to comment, a permit application submitted by event organizers from Markham, a D.C.-based production company, estimates a crowd of 7,750 people. The speech will likely occur on the Ellipse, close to where Trump gave his Jan. 6 address.

According to the permit, the event will include a large stage, thousands of handheld signs, and other elements designed to aggrandize the audience.

As Harris wraps up her campaign, she has focused on symbolic venues and key battleground states like Pennsylvania, where three events are scheduled this week. Her upcoming rally in Texas, where she does not expect to win, will, as expected, emphasize abortion, an issue that polls well for Democrats. Among Democrats, 62% say it is a deciding factor in their votes this year.

Trump, meanwhile, has continued his push through battleground states, including stops in North Carolina, Arizona, and Michigan. To increase his media visibility, he plans to rally in New York's Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

A survey by The Washington Post and Schar School, released Monday, indicates that Harris and Trump are polling within the margin of error in each of the seven key swing states.