But the gathering, planned seven days before electionit’s also an opportunity to create a viral moment for Harris and troll Trump one last time if the vice president manages to gather a large crowd near the National Mall.

In the resolutely presidential context of White HouseHarris’ rally will take place at the same location as Trump’s infamous “Stop the Steal” event, where rioters later stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 to overturn the results of the 2020 election. She intends to use the platform to implore voters to turn the page on the former president’s chaos and division and pursue a “new way forward,” his campaign slogan.

“Just imagine the Oval Office in three months,” Harris said this week in Georgia in an example of what she might repeat next Tuesday. “Picture it in your mind… It’s either Donald Trump in there, stewing on his enemies list, or me working for you, checking off my to-do list.”

As survey After poll highlights how close election remains, Harris campaign hopes rally will crystallize voters’ choice between Harris and Trump as she dispenses with ‘joy’ and amplifies the president Joe Bidenis concerned about the risks that Trump poses to democracy.

But it also provides a final opportunity to present a united Democratic front and blame Trump for his insecurities about crowd sizes if his audience is larger than his “Stop the Steal” rally, which was attended by 53,000 people, according to THE Home Special committee that investigated January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Trump’s crowd did include people on the National Mall, but the Harris campaign only requested a permit for the Ellipse from the city of Washington, D.C., for a crowd of 7,500 people. For reference, 23,000 people were present this week at his concert rally with the former president. Barack Obama And Bruce Springsteen in the suburbs of Atlanta. Around 30,000 people assisted her Friday night rally with Beyoncé in Houston, marking her largest crowd yet.

Meanwhile, Democrats are receiving text messages and emails encouraging them to RSVP to Harris’ event in Washington. “We’d love to see you there!” a text message read.

For Democratic strategist Mike Nellis, Harris “finds himself at a moment that represents one of the lowest moments in American history, where violence erupted during the transfer of power after Trump’s defeat in the election”, ” sends a strong message.

“It’s a powerful way to close the debate, especially for undecided voters,” Nellis told the Washington Examiner. “Many people may agree with Trump on some issues, but they are deeply uncomfortable with what he did on January 6th. We must remind them of this. We need to remind people who he is, what he stands for and how he will hurt people. »

Another Democratic strategist, Mike Lux, downplayed Harris’ rally as an opportunity to troll Trump, saying the Ellipse “is a serious place to raise questions about saving our democracy and stopping fascism of Trump.”

Nellis agreed, arguing that people are concerned “about the possibility of a return to the chaos that defined the Trump administration.”

But Republican strategists and pollsters disagree with how Harris’ campaign is spending the days leading up to the election making negative arguments against Trump rather than positive ones in favor of Harris.

“The best thing Harris can do is spend the next 10 days telling voters what the first 100 days of her presidency would look like,” said Doug Heye, former communications director for the Republican National Committee. Washington Examiner. “But they made a strategic decision not to do that, even though unaffiliated voters say that’s what they want to hear.” It’s mystifying.

Heye cited how Senate Democratic candidates in races that will determine the House majority, including Michigan, Montana, Ohio, PennsylvaniaAnd Wisconsin“are trying to talk about the issues that voters are talking about.”

“Social security, price, abortioneven the border“, he said. “Harris?” Not so much.

The director of the Center for Political Research at Suffolk University, David Paleologos, also considered Harris’ rally ill-conceived, but for a different reason.

“With millions of people voting every day, it is difficult to imagine that a single campaign event could move a significant number of undecided voters,” Paleologos told the Washington Examiner.

Days before Harris’ rally, Trump will deliver his own closing remarks Sunday at Madison Square Garden, which seats 20,000 people.

“President Trump will deliver his forward-looking closing message to a crowd full of patriots in deep blue. New York Citybecause Americans from all walks of life are joining his “big tent” coalition to Make America Great Again“, Republican National Committee spokesperson Anna Kelly told the Washington Examiner. “Harris will deliver his final message without joy of fear and retribution by sowing discord and looking back.”

Hounding Trump because of his crowd size was a Harris campaign strategy throughout the election, as evidenced by Harris and the former president’s sole speech. debate in September, in addition to an advertisement launched the same day.

“I’m actually going to do something really unusual and I’m going to invite you to come to one of Donald Trump’s rallies because it’s a really interesting thing to watch,” she said. “What you’ll also notice is that people start leaving his gatherings early, out of exhaustion and boredom.”

Harris’ joke prompted an immediate response from Trump, who retorted that “people don’t go to his rallies,” allowing the vice president to move from position immigration question.

“There’s no reason to go,” he said. “People don’t leave my rallies. We have the largest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics. It’s because people want to take their country back.”

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Obama took a similar approach in his remarks this summer at the Democratic National Convention In Chicagowhich implies with a hand gesture that crowd size wasn’t the only thing Trump had to worry about.

“He is a 78-year-old billionaire who has been complaining about his problems since he took his golden escalator nine years ago,” he said. “The childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, and the strange obsession with crowd size. This goes on and on.