Harris to stoke the memory of the riot at the U.S. Capitol at the site of Trump’s Jan. 6 speech

WASHINGTON — Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris will stir memories of the attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump with a speech Tuesday at the same spot where the former president addressed them on Jan. 6, 2021, before their attack.

In Florida, Republican former President Trump’s campaign at the White House tried to distance itself from racist and other vulgar comments made by speakers at his rally in New York City on Sunday.

“This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with resentment and bent on unchecked power,” Harris will say during the closing arguments of her campaign in Washington, a week before the closely contested November 5 presidential election.

Organizers told police they expect the rally to draw more than 50,000 people, NBC4 Washington reported, citing the city’s police chief.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed Harris’ lead among registered voters had narrowed to just 44% to 43%. Harris has led Trump in every Reuters/Ipsos poll since she entered the race in July, but her lead has steadily shrunk since late September.

Trump and his allies have sought to downplay the violence of Jan. 6, when thousands of his supporters stormed the Capitol, sending lawmakers fleeing for their lives and chanting “Hang Mike Pence,” the vice president, after Trump’s speech on the Ellipse, where as president he told the crowd to “fight like hell” to prevent Pence and Congress from certifying his loss.

Four people were killed in the ensuing riot at the Capitol, and a police officer defending the Capitol died the next day. Trump has said that if re-elected, he would pardon the more than 1,500 participants accused of crimes.

Trump on Tuesday defended his widely criticized rally in New York on Sunday, which featured vulgar and racist comments from allies, calling the event “an absolute love fest.”

Trump did not comment on the rhetoric of speakers at the event, where one comedian called Puerto Rico a “floating island of trash” and disparaged Black Americans, Jewish people, Palestinians and Latinos.

Although his campaign has said the comments about Puerto Rico did not reflect the former president’s views, Trump called the event a lovefest. “And it was my honor to be involved in this,” he said.

RECOVERING HISPANIC VOTERS

According to the University of Florida’s Election Hub, some 51 million Americans have already voted in the election, in a battle that will decide who will govern the world’s richest and most powerful country for four years.

Harris, who would become the first female president, and Trump, who is seeking a return to office after his 2017-2021 term, differ on support for Ukraine and NATO, tariffs leading to trade wars, abortion rights, taxes and fundamental democratic principles could lead.

The candidates are competing neck and neck in the seven battleground states that will decide the elections.

Trump has said Harris would be too dangerous to serve as president, citing foreign wars and high levels of immigration during her tenure as vice president.

He said she had waged a campaign of destruction. “But really, more than anything, it’s a hate campaign,” he said.

Both candidates are trying to solidify voters’ opinions in the final days of a historically close election.

Trump wants to capitalize on voters’ discontent over rising prices and immigration, while Harris has emphasized abortion rights and described Trump as an ambitious dictator who would undermine American democracy.

Trump was scheduled to visit a heavily Hispanic town in Pennsylvania later in the day, two days after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s comments about Puerto Rico sparked outrage at the New York rally.

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