Closing argument: Kamala Harris makes appeal to ordinary Americans at site of January 6 insurrection

More than 50,000 gather to witness Vice President Harris speak on White House Ellipse

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Kamala Harris on Tuesday used the closing argument of her presidential campaign to present herself to US voters as the stark opposite of her Republican challenger Donald Trump.

Days before the election on November 5, the Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee addressed tens of thousands of people who had gathered at the Ellipse in Washington, urging them to cast their vote for her.

"If you give me the chance to fight on your behalf, there is nothing in the world that will stand in my way," she said.

The crowd, which police estimated was 52,000 strong, chanted "Kamala" as she took the stage, joined by her husband Doug Emhoff.

During her speech, she made an appeal to ordinary Americans, pledging to honour "the dignity of work", and tackle the high cost of health care, housing and food.

The location of Ms Harris’s speech is no accident, as it is where Mr Trump gave a speech on January 6, 2021, right before a mob of his supporters attacked the US Capitol to try to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.

"This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power," Ms Harris said of Mr Trump.

On foreign policy, she said she would always uphold security, advance national interests and "ensure that the United States of America remains as we must forever be a champion of liberty around the world".

"America, we know what Donald Trump has in mind: more chaos, more division and policies that help those at the very top and hurt everyone else," Ms Harris said.

Ahead of the speech, people - many wearing t-shirts featuring Ms Harris's picture and carrying signs - queued near the White House.

"During [Mr Trump's] last administration, it was a very depressing, divisive time," Tanisha Jackson, an epidemiologist living in Washington who came to attend the rally, told The National.

"Just his temperament, pettiness and demeanor - the negativity during his last administration."

Ms Harris has been campaigning since July, after Mr Biden announced that he would no longer seek a second term in office.

Since then, her campaign has focused on promoting "joy", a message that she says stands in stark contrast to the negativity espoused by Mr Trump, who often rails against immigration, the economy and the status of America in the world under the Biden administration.

Bringing Ms Harris to the top of the ticket led to a spike in enthusiasm among Democratic voters.

But the war in Gaza, now more than a year old, and the Biden administration's near unequivocal support for Israel even as the Palestinian death toll exceeds 42,000, looms heavy.

"I wish that we could have been a bit more forceful against [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu," Eric Chancellor, who came from Virginia with his wife to attend the speech, told The National. "I think what's happening in Gaza borders on genocide, and Ukraine, same thing."

Progressives from the Democratic Party, as well as Muslim and Arab Americans, have been lobbying and calling on Ms Harris to signal that, should she win, she will break from Mr Biden on his support for Israel.

Many have been calling on Ms Harris to endorse an arms embargo on Israel, as well as commit to doing more to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza and in Lebanon.

But Ms Harris has so far given little indication that her policies on the Middle East would differ from the current administration.

Still, Sophia O'Neal, who is originally from California but now lives in Washington, said that, with Ms Harris at the helm, there is an opportunity to continue to call on her to do more.

"What's happening in Gaza right now, the genocide, I want to make sure that voices that are calling for her to do more and hold Israel accountable for their actions are heard," Ms O'Neal told The National.

"And I think there's significant opportunity to push her on that in a way that does not exist whatsoever with Donald Trump."

Polls show the two candidates are neck and neck in the seven battleground states that will determine the election.