Fact check: Kamala Harris’s speech at the White House Ellipse
Al Jazeera
Harris spoke at the site of Trump’s ‘Save America’ rally before the January 6 Capitol riot. We fact-checked her claims.
Washington, DC – In a speech from the Ellipse adjoining the White House – also known as the President’s Park – one week from Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris drew a sharp contrast with former President Donald Trump, calling him a “petty tyrant” and repeating a line she has used in recent days – that she would begin her presidential term not with an enemies list, but with a to-do list.
Harris spoke at the site where Trump delivered his “Save America” rally ahead of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. During the October 29 speech, Harris said Trump had been “at this very spot … and sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election”.
In her speech’s first half, Harris focused on the risks she believes Trump poses for the country. Later, she shifted towards policy, distinguishing parts of her agenda on taxes, abortion and immigration from Trump’s.
“Politicians have got to stop treating immigration as an issue to scare up votes in an election,” she said, “and instead treat it as the serious challenge that it is.”
Harris’s campaign said the attendance was 75,000, which would be the largest crowd of her campaign. The House Select Committee that investigated the events of January 6, 2021, said the “Save America” rally drew 53,000 people. About two hours before Harris began speaking, lines of supporters snaked around fencing near the Ellipse site, running for blocks and reaching well into the National Mall. Campaign volunteers worked the lines to sign up attendees for an app that lets them canvass other voters.
