Good afternoon and welcome back to another day on the presidential campaign trail.
This is our daily wrap, making sure you’re caught up on the latest election developments.
In Wednesday’s wrap, we take a look at Kamala Harris’ rally in Washington, Steve Bannon’s release from federal prison and data showing what Americans think about Donald Trump and democracy.
Let’s get into it.
Harris delivers closing argument near the White House
Vice-President Kamala Harris has delivered her closing speech at a rally in Washington DC, pledging to “put country above party and above self”.
Supporters gathered at the Ellipse near the White House — the same place Donald Trump held a rally with a crowd who went on to attack the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“We know who Donald Trump is. He is the person who stood at this very spot nearly four years ago and sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol to overturn the will of the people,” Ms Harris said.
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Her campaign said more that 75,000 people turned out to listen to the Democratic presidential candidate who said Trump was seeking “unchecked power”.
She said Trump was a “petty tyrant” and “wannabe dictator” who wasn’t focused on making life better for Americans.
Ms Harris listed her key policy goals, including expanding Medicare coverage for home health care, increasing supply to housing and restoring nationwide access to abortion.
“On day one, if elected, Donald Trump would walk into that office with an enemies list. When elected, I will walk in with a to-do list.”
Trump ally Bannon released from prison
Trump’s ally Steve Bannon has been released from federal prison after serving a four-month sentence for contempt of US Congress.
In 2022, Bannon was found guilty of refusing to sit before the January 6 House Committee investigating the US Capitol attack after Joe Biden’s election victory in 2020.
The former Trump adviser was also found guilty of refusing to provide documents related to his involvement with Trump’s effort to overturn the election.
Soon after leaving a low-security prison in Connecticut, Bannon appeared at a Manhattan media event and declared: “I’m finally out of being a political prisoner”.
“I think you can see today I’m far from broken. I’ve been empowered by my four months in Danbury federal prison,” he said.
Bannon was a key adviser to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and was his chief White House strategist in 2017 before they had a falling out.
He told reporters he spoke to Trump on Tuesday morning, local time, and repeated his unsubstantiated claim that the 2020 election was “stolen”.
Bannon was facing criminal charges in New York state for allegedly duping donors who gave money to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.
Presidential candidates cross the country
With just seven days to go until the election, both presidential candidates have ben crisscrossing the US trying to win as many votes as they can.
Much of the campaigning over the past three days has been focused around the key swing states of Wisconsin, Pensylvania, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada.
Photo of the day
Paulyne Morgan White says she will vote on election day. (Reuters: Kevin Wurm)
In July 1964, the US passed the Civil Rights Act that prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex or national origin at places serving the public.
Sixty years since the law passed, Reuters spoke to Black voters who lived under Jim Crow laws to get their views on this year’s presidential election.
“I’m going to vote on voting day,” said Paulyne Morgan White, 95, from Atlanta, Georgia.
“I like the activity. And I don’t have to wait in line.”
Is Trump good or bad for democracy?
Supporters for both Trump and Harris are equally likely to believe American democracy is under threat, according to a poll by the New York Times and Siena College.
The research institute surveyed 2,516 voters across the US between October 20 to 23.
The poll also showed many voters did not believe Trump was serious when he said he would use the military on “the enemy from within”.
Michelle Obama: ‘Change takes not days but decades’
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ABC/Wires
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