Trump lashes out at Harris ahead of pivotal 'closing argument' speech in US capital

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Ex-US President Donald Trump issued a major broadside against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris Tuesday, just hours before she delivers a major address in the nation's capital that her campaign says will be her "closing arument" to American voters.

Addressing supporters at his Mar-a-Lago golf resort in Florida, Trump said Harris has carried out a campaign "of hate and division," accusing her of having "obliterated our borders," and "decimated the middle class."

"Runaway inflation has caused problems, the likes of we never thought possible. Bloodshed, squalor to our cities is common, and they've unleashed a war, chaos all over the world. You take a look, everything is blowing up, or getting ready to blow up," he said. "No person has caused so much destruction and death at home, and abroad."

Harris is preparing to address tens of thousands of supporters later Tuesday evening at the Ellipse, a location just south of the White House where Trump gathered his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, just minutes before they stormed the Capitol in what marked the first seige of the federal legislature since the War of 1812.

Droves of Trump's supporters overran barriers, clashed with police and smashed their way into the building as lawmakers fled to secure locations where they entered lockdown for hours.

The rioters had sought to prevent Congress from carrying out a key constitutionally-mandated step ahead of US President Joe Biden's inauguration, but the body reconvened early the following morning to finish the certification of Electoral College votes.

About 40,000 people are expected to attend Harris' rally at the Ellipse, a location she has said was chosen to draw a stark contrast between her and the former president as he reels from political blowback following a weekend rally at which racist and crude rhetoric was spewed from the podium.

"I would and do think about that place more in the context of what will be behind me, which is the White House. And I'm doing it there, because I think it is very important for the American people to see and think about who will be occupying that space on Jan. 20," she said during an interview with CBS News, referring to the date of next year's presidential inauguration.

"It's either going to be Donald Trump or it's going to be me sitting behind the resolute desk in the Oval Office," she added.

For his part, Trump downplayed comments made by a comedian who said Puerto Rico is a "floating pile of garbage," and made vulgar comments about Latinos and birth control.

Another person who took the stage said Harris "and her pimp handlers will destroy the country," while former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Palestinians "are taught to kill us at two years old. They won’t let a Palestinian in Jordan. They won't let a Palestinian in Egypt. And Harris wants to bring them to you."

"They may have good people. I'm sorry I don't take a risk with people who are taught to kill Americans at two. I am on the side of Israel. You are on the side of Israel. Donald Trump is on the side of Israel. And they are on the side of the terrorists," said Giuliani.

"It was like a love fest, an absolute love fest, and it was my honor to be involved," Trump said at Mar-a-Lago. "Nobody's ever had love like that. That was love in the room, and it was love for our country. It was really love. So we're going to fight like hell for the next seven days."

Trump and Harris are locked in a virtual dead heat with one week to go before Election Day. A compilation of polling from the RealClearPolitics website has Trump ahead by just 0.1% nationally -- 58.5% to Harris' 58.4%.

The Republican nominee continues to lead Harris in six of seven battleground states with Michigan just recently tipping in her favor by 0.3%. But Trump leads in the six other states -- Pennsylvania (+0.4%), Wisconsin (+0.5%), Nevada (+0.7%), North Carolina (+0.9%), Arizona (+1.3%), and Georgia (+2.3%).

That handful of states is pivotal, because the US does not directly elect its presidents. Instead, the process plays out via the Electoral College where 538 representatives cast their ballots in line with their states’ outcomes.

Either candidate needs to secure 270 Electoral College votes to claim victory. Electors are allocated to states based on their population, and most states give all of their electors to whichever candidate wins the state in the general vote.

The winner-take-all model is not followed in Nebraska and Maine, however, which instead allocate their votes proportionally based on their final outcomes.