Thousands of people gathered to watch Vice President Kamala Harris speak ahead of the election. News4’s Walter Morris reports.
Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her campaign's closing argument outside the White House to a huge crowd of supporters drawn from across the D.C. area and beyond.
According to Harris’ campaign, 75,000 people gathered around the National Mall to show their support for the Democratic Party candidate.
A federal law enforcement official told NBC News that 40,000 attendees were screened and an estimated 20,000 more people gathered on the grassy slope next to the Washington Monument and around Constitution Avenue.
An earlier permit for the event estimated around 20,000 attendees, but that number rapidly increased.
In her speech, Harris contrasted herself with former President Donald Trump and urged all Americans to “turn the page” on the Trump era.
The event was largely calm. D.C. police said two adults accused of assaulting an officer were arrested about the time that the speech began.
One D.C.-area resident said that moments like these are history in the making.
Decision 2024
“I slept in my office and spent like an 18-hour day to come to the first Obama inaugural, and I’m not going to miss this. I’ll be back for the inaugural in January," she said.
Harris plans to spend election night in D.C. at her alma mater, Howard University.
