NEW YORK – In the shadow of the White House, seven days before the final votes of the 2024 elections, Kamala Harris promised to put country before party and warned that Donald Trump was obsessed with revenge and his own personal interests.

In less than 48 hours early Madison Square GardenTrump called his Democratic opponent “a train wreck that destroyed everything in her path.” His allies on the stage have labeled Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and said Harris, who will be the first woman to serve as president, began her career as a prostitute.

Two nights and 200 miles away, the dueling closing arguments underscored in no uncertain terms the choice American voters face on Nov. 5, when they weigh two very different visions of leadership and America’s future.

Trump’s raucous rally, punctuated by crude and racist slurs, brought out the uglier elements of his coalition. But other quarters have pointed to the former businessman’s appeal as someone who promises to fix the economy and the border, and as a political outsider willing to defy convention, despite the risks.

Harris, the vice president for the past four years, chose a more formal setting — the grassy ellipse near the White House — to emphasize the gravity of this moment in American history and the threat Trump poses to democracy. She faced a massive audience in the same place where Trump addressed thousands of his supporters on January 6, 2021, before they stormed the US Capitol in one of the darkest days in modern history.

But more than reminding voters of the danger Trump poses to American democracy, Harris’ remarks were meant to highlight her opponent’s track record of prioritizing her personal interests over the nation’s.

“Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other. That’s who he is. But America, I’m here tonight to say: That’s not who we are,” Harris said. “I pledge to be a president for all Americans — to always put country above party and above self.”

Senior Counsel Jen O’Malley Dillon noted that Harris’ final argument is designed to reach a narrow segment of undecided voters; they include many moderate Republicans.

“We know there are still many voters out there who are still trying to decide who to support — or whether to vote,” O’Malley Dillon said. “And this race is extremely close. We talk about it as a margin of error race. We know it will be closed in the last week.”

Trump’s team is more focused on energizing his partisan base and reaching rare voters across the political spectrum who are frustrated with the direction of the country and looking for change.

Still, Trump framed his comments in recent days with a simple question that cuts across political lines, asking voters if they are better off now than they were four years ago at the end of his first term. While the nation was still in the throes of the pandemic when Trump left office, polls indicate that most voters are unhappy with the direction of the country today.

Trump has vowed to mount the largest deportation crackdown in US history and impose sweeping tariffs to generate revenue and boost American manufacturing.

Defiant in the face of criticism even from some Republicans, Trump on Tuesday called his Madison Square Garden event “a celebration of love” and did not address comments from pro-Trump comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage “. Hinchcliffe also made demeaning jokes about black people, other Latinos, Palestinians and Jews in his routine before Trump took the stage.

“No one has ever had love like this,” Trump said of Sunday’s hours-long event in which members of his family and surrogates and high-level supporters, including billionaire Elon Musk, TV psychologist “Dr. Phil” McGraw and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. “It was truly love for our country.”

The former Republican president also offered a dark assessment of Harris’ leadership on Tuesday. He said it had “erased” the nation’s borders, “decimated the middle class”, brought “bloodshed and misery” to major cities and “sparked war and mayhem around the world”.

“No person who has caused so much destruction and death at home and abroad should ever be allowed to be president of the United States,” Trump told dozens of supporters who gathered at his Florida estate.

Trump senior adviser Jason Miller said Trump had made clear his plans to fix the economy, secure the southern border and “improve people’s everyday lives.”

“Kamala Harris didn’t do any of that,” he said. “It’s a message of desperation, personal attacks, and nothing from Harris or her campaign about what they’re actually going to do to help Americans. So it’s a massive contrast.”

Harris has largely moved on from the “jolly” campaign style that defined his entry into the presidential race this summer. She promised unity Tuesday night, but also saw Trump as someone driven more by revenge and grievance than a commitment to the people.

“This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with discontent and seeking unchecked power,” Harris said. “This is not a presidential candidate thinking about how to make your life better.”

She spoke directly to Republican voters at times and promised to listen to those who did not vote for her if elected. Harris previously said he would include a Republican in his cabinet.

“Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t think people who disagree with me are the enemy,” she said. “He wants to put them in jail. I will give them a place at the table”.

Heading into the speech, the Democrat’s campaign was aware of criticism from her party’s far-left base that she was too focused on courting moderate Republican voters. They urged Harris to focus more on the priorities of the working class than on the threat Trump poses to American democracy.

Finally, the Vice President’s speech was designed to tie both issues together. She warned that Trump threatened democratic norms and promised to crack down on high food prices and help first-time homebuyers make a down payment.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a top Harris ally, said voters can “walk and chew gum at the same time — which means they can hear an argument about freedom and something that affects their pocketbook. And I think she’s certainly capable of handling both cases at the same time.”

Sisters Michelle Detwiler and Renee Newell drove from Virginia to witness Harris’ remarks at the Ellipse.

“We both have daughters and we’re both here for them,” Newell said. Detwiler said the location of the event is a “great counterpoint to the January 6 images. DC is a great city for peaceful public gatherings.

“We are so happy to be here and experience the joy,” she said.

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Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Fatima Hussein in Washington and Jill Colvin in New York contributed.