Kamala Harris drew a strong contrast with Donald Trump as he made his closing argument against the backdrop of the White House on Tuesday, telling a massive crowd at the Ellipse that the election is a choice between a hopeful future and chaos and division.

“This United States of America is not a vessel for the schemes of would-be dictators,” Harris said. “The United States of America is the greatest idea of ​​humanity ever conceived, a nation big enough to encompass all our dreams, strong enough to withstand any fracture or fissure between us, and fearless enough to imagine a future of possibilities.”

Toward the end of the just over 30-minute speech, it was a tale of conflicting bottom thirds, reflecting the divisions in the nation in this close election. “Harris offers the closing argument about 2024 election,” CNN said, while Fox proclaimed “Kamala shuts down fear and fascism.” MSNBC said: “Kamala Harris makes final pitch to voters.”

The speech itself echoed many of the themes and policy proposals Harris made throughout the campaign, but the address was heavily promoted, capturing the attention of major cable news networks and ending just as Game 4 of the World Series was about to start.

Harris acknowledged that “a lot of you are still starting to know who I am,” as she peppered her speech with personal anecdotes of her mother while arguing that her presidency would be different from Joe Biden’s “because the challenges we face. it will be different.”

She appeared to heed the warnings of pundits who said she needed to focus more on herself and her policy proposals — not just Trump — in the final days of the election.

That said, the staging of the speech was heavy on symbolism, as she noted early on that the Ellipse was where Trump held a rally on January 6, 2021 before sending “an armed mob to overturn the will to the people in a free and unfettered manner. right choices.” As she talked about that day, police sirens could be heard in the background — something not uncommon in the area near the White House.

The event was broadcast by Fox News, CNN and MSNBC, while the BBC covered part of it before doing a split screen that included Trump’s rally in Allentown, PA. Broadcast networks remained with regular programming except for their streaming channels. Harris’ campaign said 75,000 people gathered — with an overflow, outside the security perimeter near the Washington Monument. These figures have not been confirmed by law enforcement officers.

During his speech, Harris tried to address Republicans, who may be critical in what is being called a “margin of error” race. She took advantage of Trump’s own rhetoric, including his use of the term “enemy from within” to talk about political rivals while pitching his presidency as one that would unite.

“Just because someone disagrees with us doesn’t make them the enemy within,” Harris said. “They are fellow Americans, and as Americans we rise and fall together.”

She also echoed a theme throughout his campaign that Trump was looking to return to the Oval Office for his own interests, not voters. She said that on day one, Trump will walk into the Oval Office “with a list of enemies. When elected, I will present a priority list of what I can do for the American people.”

“I am committed to finding common ground and common sense solutions to make your life better. I’m not looking to make political points. I’m looking to make progress,” Harris said. “… And for people who disagree with me — unlike Donald Trump, I don’t think people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I will give them a seat at the table.”

Trump’s team tried to characterize Harris’ rhetoric as divisive, claiming she was calling the former president’s supporters Nazis. That appeared to be a reference to Harris’ quoting of comments made by Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, who last week said New York Times that the former president met the definition of a fascist.

“Kamala Harris lies, name-calls and clings to the past to avoid admitting the truth — the migrant crime crisis, skyrocketing inflation and raging world wars are the result of her terrible policies,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s national press secretary. said in a statement.