Kamala Harris Draws Record-Breaking Crowd at the Ellipse

Kamala Harris Draws Record-Breaking Crowd at the Ellipse, Outshining Previous Events

More than 75,000 people flocked to Washington, D.C., to hear Vice President Kamala Harris deliver her powerful closing argument at the historic Ellipse. This gathering, held a week before Election Day, surpassed previous records set at the same location and highlighted a stark contrast to former President Donald Trump’s controversial “Save America” rally that preceded the January 6 Capitol riots.

Harris’ speech at the Ellipse came shortly after Trump’s event at Madison Square Garden, which faced backlash for what many deemed as inflammatory and racist remarks. CNN reported that the Ellipse reached full capacity, with additional crowds spilling over into the National Mall, as confirmed by a campaign official.

Trump’s infamous January 6 rally drew an estimated 53,000 attendees. That event led to a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol as Congress was in the process of certifying the 2020 election results, where Trump lost to President Joe Biden. The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 events detailed the size of the gathering and its aftermath.

This record-breaking turnout for Harris wasn’t her first in recent days. The vice president previously set a record in Houston at an event featuring Beyoncé, where around 30,000 people gathered at Shell Energy Stadium to hear her speak on reproductive rights.

As Harris took the stage at the Ellipse, her campaign’s rapid response director, Ammar Moussa, shared an update on X, formerly known as Twitter. “OVER 75,000 people on the National Mall to watch Kamala Harris deliver her closing remarks,” Moussa posted, adding, “Here. We. Go.”

Trump, who frequently boasts about his own rally sizes, claimed that his recent Madison Square Garden event in New York City filled the venue to its 19,500-person capacity. However, Newsweek has previously reported that Trump often exaggerates his crowd sizes. Trump’s Sunday rally was marred by discriminatory comments targeting Latinos, Black people, Jews, and Palestinians, along with sexist remarks about Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. One controversial joke came from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” Trump’s campaign distanced itself from the comment, stating that it did not represent the views of the former president or his team. When questioned about Hinchcliffe’s remarks by ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Trump replied, “I don’t know him. Someone put him up there. I don’t know who he is,” before adding, “The love in that room was breathtaking. It was like a lovefest, an absolute lovefest. And it was my honor to be involved.”

During her address, Harris directly criticized Trump’s rhetoric, saying, “He has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other.” She assured the crowd, “That is who he is. But America, I am here tonight to say that is not who we are.”

Harris also took aim at Trump’s recent comments about confronting “the enemy from within” if re-elected. Trump had repeated this phrase during his Madison Square Garden speech, where he told supporters, “We’re running against a massive, crooked, malicious leftist machine that’s running the Democrat Party. They are smart and vicious, they are the enemy within, we must defeat them.”

Addressing this directly, Harris stated, “Donald Trump intends to use the United States military against American citizens who simply disagree with him. People he calls … ‘the enemy from within.’” She added, “Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I’ll give them a seat at my table.”

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign for a response but had not received a comment as of Tuesday.