By ZEKE MILLER and WILL WEISSERT
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris plans to lay out her campaign’s closing argument by returning to the site near the White House where Donald Trump helped incite a mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol in January 2021 — hoping it will crystalize for voters the fight between defending democracy and sowing political chaos.
Her campaign says Harris will give a speech at the Ellipse Tuesday — one week before Election Day — where she will urge the nation to “turn the page” toward a new era away from Trump.
The site is symbolic, since it’s where Trump delivered a speech on Jan. 6, 2021, lying about widespread election fraud that had not occurred and urging supporters to fight — helping incite a mob that launched a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Word of the speech came from a senior Harris campaign official who insisted on anonymity to discuss a speech that was still in development. The Harris campaign is betting that her speech at the Ellipse can provide an opportunity for Harris to stress that the country no longer wants to be defined by Trump’s gleeful combativeness.
Trump’s campaign suggested he’d begin framing his closing argument while addressing a rally last weekend in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, but instead he spent more than 10 minutes talking about the genitals of the late, legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, who was from Latrobe.
Word about her plans for next week came after Harris spent part of Wednesday visiting Philadelphia’s Famous 4th Street Deli — a longtime haven for elected officials where the politics is probably more famous than the pastrami and other lunchtime staples.
She is in town to film a CNN town hall at 9 p.m. EDT, with her election against Republican former President Donald Trump now less than two weeks away. The vice president will take questions before an audience of undecided voters as part of what was once envisioned as a debate with Trump. Harris had said she would participate in a CNN debate but the two sides never worked out a formal agreement.
Before the town hall, Harris first hit the homey, Jewish-style deli known for its extra-large sandwiches. Famous 4th Street opened in 1923, and boasts of smoking its own pastrami, pickling its corned beef and brining its pickles.
The place was packed with what Harris called “super volunteers,” and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker was also in attendance. The vice president paused for selfies with some volunteers and Parker. When one man cried, “We’re gonna win,” Harris responded, “We are.”
Later she was more superstitious while addressing the larger crowd, declaring, “Knock wood, God willing, we are going to win.”
The vice president promised to help the nation “turn the page” on an era of division, adding, “Because of all you are doing, we are building community, we are building coalitions.”
It has been a political tradition since the 1970s for politicians to gather at the deli on Election Day to talk shop with supporters and the media while having lunch, a black-and-white cookie or both.
Harris eventually signed an order sheet, then grabbed a preordered to-go bag with a pastrami sandwich on rye and a slice of German chocolate cake.
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