Kamala Harris’ Crowd Size breaks previous record with Ellipse speech

More than 75,000 spectators gathered in Washington, DC, to hear Vice President Kamala Harris’ closing arguments at the same venue for former President Donald Trump’s infamous “Save America” ​​rally that preceded the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Harris’ event at the Ellipse came a week before Election Day and followed Trump’s closing arguments at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, which drew backlash for its inflammatory and racist rhetoric.

As the vice president took the stage Tuesday night, her campaign’s rapid response director, Ammar Moussa, wrote on his account on X, formerly Twitter, that there were “OVER 75,000 people on the National Mall to watch Kamala Harris deliver her closing remarks.”

“Here. We. Go,” added Moussa.

CNN later reported that the Ellipse was at capacity and some guests were directed to an overflow area on the National Mall, according to a Harris campaign staffer.

Trump held his January 6, 2021, rally at the Ellipse on the same day that crowds of his supporters rioted at the US Capitol as Congress confirmed the 2020 election, in which Trump lost to President Joe Biden. According to the House Select Committee tasked with investigating January 6, about 53,000 people attended Trump’s speech before the attack.

Harris’ previous record for crowd size was set Friday at her rally in Houston, which included a performance by Beyoncé. The vice president’s campaign said about 30,000 people turned out for the Shell Energy Stadium event, which was focused on reproductive rights.

Trump often touts his own rallying cry, though as Newsweek has reported, the former president often exaggerates his audience numbers. Trump’s campaign said the former president’s event in New York City on Sunday filled Madison Square Garden to capacity. The venue can accommodate a maximum of 19,500 people.

Sunday’s event was marked by racist remarks about Latinos, black people, Jews and Palestinians. Sexist comments were also made about Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by several speakers.

Trump’s campaign has spoken out against a comment made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who said during his speech that Puerto Rico is a “floating island of garbage.” The former president’s team said “the joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.” Trump told ABC News’ Rachel Scott when asked about the joke Tuesday: “I don’t know him. Somebody put him up there. I don’t know who he is.”

The former president also stopped short of condemning other statements from Madison Square Garden during a speech at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, instead saying, “There has never been an event so beautiful.”

“The love in that room was breathtaking,” he added. “It was like a love fest, an absolute love fest. And it was my honor to be a part of it.”

Harris said during his Ellipse speech that Trump “has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other.”

“It is who he is,” she added. “But America, I’m here tonight to say that’s not who we are.”

The vice president also criticized Trump’s comments about going after the “enemy within” if elected to the White House. Despite receiving enormous backlash for the comments in recent weeks, Trump repeated the phrase during his Madison Square Garden speech, telling supporters: “We are running against a massive, crooked, malicious left-wing machine that controls the Democrats. They are clever and vicious, they are the enemy within, we must defeat them.”

On Tuesday, Harris told supporters: “Donald Trump intends to use the United States military against American citizens who simply disagree with him. People he calls … ‘the enemy from within’.”

Harris added: “Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy. He’s going to put them in jail. I’m going to give them a seat at my table.”

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign via email Tuesday for comment.