The night before Kamala Harris sets off on a final multi-day tour of key battleground states that will decide the 2024 presidential election, she gave one final speech, virtually in the shadow of the White House.

The choice of venue was no coincidence. Donald Trump held his rally at the same location on January 6, 2021, speaking to his supporters just hours before thousands of them stormed the Capitol and disrupted the certification of Joe Biden's presidential victory.

On a balmy October night, Harris stood before an estimated 70,000 cheering supporters at an event they hoped would provide a counterpoint to that cold, violent January day.

And in the unlikely event that the symbolism was missed by everyone watching, Harris made it clear at the start of her speech.

“We know who Donald Trump is,” she said Tuesday. “He is the person who stood on this very spot almost four years ago and sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election.”

However, Harris did not elaborate further on the Jan. 6 riots. The venue did most of the work, providing the subtext of the speech and providing the point from which Harris could pivot.

While she began darkly warning of an “unstable” and “crazy” Trump “obsessed with revenge,” she focused on what she described as her “other path.”

Harris acknowledged that many undecided American voters are “still getting to know” her after her truncated presidential campaign and discussed the highlights of her biography and upbringing.

She then put forward some of her key policy proposals, including reducing housing costs, expanding the child tax credit and including home care in state health insurance for the elderly.

She spent even more time talking about abortion and the need to pass laws providing national abortion rights – an area where Democrats are particularly strong against their Republican opponents.

It was essentially a stripped-down version of her address to the Democratic National Convention – an addition to the late August speech that the campaign had billed as an introduction to Americans.

Democrats were in full swing at the time, rejoicing in their new candidate after weeks of dejection and infighting led to Biden's decision to abandon his re-election bid.

Since then, Harris' campaign has seen ups and downs and now faces a photo finish next week.

If the polls are right, Harris still has a ways to go to win over undecided Americans — and this speech was her last and greatest attempt to do that on a prominent stage, with the White House looming over her shoulder.

Her biographical highlights and political details aside, the message her campaign aims to convey to voters on Election Day appears to be one of opposites – of division versus unity; bitterness versus hope; partisanship versus cooperation; Past versus future.

“I promise to look for common ground and common-sense solutions to make your lives better,” Harris said. “It's not about scoring political points for me. I want to make progress.”

However, as she gave her speech, the current occupant of the building behind her made comments that illustrated how difficult her task could be.

Speaking about a mocking joke about Puerto Rico made by a comedian at a Trump rally on Sunday, Biden appeared to call Trump supporters “trash.”

The president later claimed he was only referring to the rally speaker's comments. But video of his remarks is unclear — and the episode already distracted from Harris' event Tuesday night.

This is just one more obstacle Harris must overcome, as well as allaying Americans' concerns about the economy and immigration – where polls show Trump has the advantage.

She also tried to address these in her speech, even if they seemed to take a back seat to grandiose words and targeted attacks.

Her speech framed the election in a way that was favorable to her. Next Tuesday will show whether a majority of the American public – or at least a majority in enough key battleground states – agrees.

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher breaks down the race for the White House in his twice-weekly newsletter, US Election Unspun. Readers in the UK can Register here. People outside the UK can do this Register here.