Kamala Harris told Americans that Donald Trump’s efforts to sow division and fear “is not who we are.”

She reinforced her final campaign argument by delivering it from the same spot where the former Republican president fueled the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.

A week before Election Day, the vice president used the address on the grassy Ellipse near the White House to pledge to Americans that she will work to improve their lives, while insisting that her Republican opponent is all for him.

Mr. Trump “has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other: This is who he is,” Ms. Harris said. “But America, I’m here tonight to say: That’s not who we are.”

She reminded voters of Trump’s role in the events of Jan. 6 and his focus on self-interest.

“Look, we know who Donald Trump is. He is the person who stood in this very place almost 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,” she said.

She has not delivered a treatise on democracy — a staple of President Joe Biden’s attempts to contrast Mr. Trump.

Instead, she aimed to make a broader case for why voters should reject Mr. Trump and consider what she has to offer, while reaching out to voters who still want more information and encouraging crowd to visualize their divergent futures hanging in the balance on election day.

“He has an enemy list of people he intends to sue,” Ms Harris said. “He says one of his highest priorities is to free the violent extremists who attacked these law enforcement officers on January 6th.

“Donald Trump intends to use the United States military against American citizens who simply do not agree with him. People he calls “the enemy within.” This is not a presidential candidate who is thinking about how to make your life better.”

Her speech drew a huge crowd in Washington, with crowds overflowing under the Washington Monument on the National Mall. Her campaign hopes the setting will help draw the attention of battleground voters who remain on the fence about who to vote for — or whether to vote at all.

Before Ms. Harris’s remarks, her campaign had organized a speaker list of ordinary Americans, rather than the star power that has been on display at some of her recent events or the parade of elected officials often on the schedule of Washington events.

They include Amanda Zurawski, a woman who nearly died of sepsis after being denied care under Texas’ strict abortion ban, and Craig Sicknick, the brother of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died in the attack in January 6.

The address came days after Ms. Harris traveled to Texas, a reliably Republican state, to appear with megastar Beyonce and highlight the consequences for women after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. And this was a speech meant to register with voters from far away in the battleground states.

The vice president’s latest address has been in the works for weeks. But aides hoped her message would have more impact after Trump’s rally on Sunday at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where speakers hurled cruel and racist slurs.

The Democratic candidate said the event “highlighted the point we’ve been making throughout this campaign.”

“He is focused and actually fixated on his grievances, on himself and on dividing our country,” she said.

She sought to craft a pragmatic and forward-looking plan for the country, including reminding voters of her economic proposals and pledging to work for access to reproductive care, including abortion.

“Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t think people who disagree with me are the enemy,” Ms Harris said. “He wants to put them in jail. I will give them a seat at my table. And I am committed to being a president for all Americans. To always put country above party and above self.”

Also central to her message was positioning herself as a “new generation” of leader after Mr. Trump and even her current boss, Mr. Biden.

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” she said. “We need to stop pointing fingers and start locking arms. It’s time to turn the page on drama, conflict and confusion.”

She acknowledged that “a lot of you are still starting to know who I am” after her surprise rise to the top of the Democratic ticket after Mr. Biden dropped out of the race in July, and used her remarks to try to satisfy voters’ curiosity.

“I recognize that this has not been a typical campaign,” Ms. Harris said, adding that she is “not afraid of tough fights against bad actors and powerful interests.”

“I’ll be honest with you: I’m not perfect. i make mistakes But here’s what I promise you: I’ll always listen to you, even if you don’t vote for me.

“I will always tell you the truth, even if it’s hard to hear. I will work every day to build consensus and reach compromise to get things done. And if you give me the chance to fight in your name, there is nothing in the world that can stand in my way.”

Before the speech, Trump used remarks to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida to accuse Ms. Harris of ending with a message that did not address the everyday struggles of everyday Americans and the concerns of at the kitchen table.

He said Mr. Harris continues to “talk about Hitler and Nazis because her record is horrible,” a reference to the vice president amplifying warnings from his former chief of staff that Mr. Trump spoke admiringly of the Nazi leader while in office.

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