WASHINGTON - Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris will stir memories of the assault on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump supporters with a speech on Tuesday at the same spot where the former president addressed them on Jan. 6, 2021, before their attack.

       In Florida, Republican former President Trump's White House campaign tried to move on from racist and other vulgar remarks made by speakers at his rally in New York City on Sunday.

       "This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power," Harris will say during her campaign's closing argument in Washington, a week before a tightly contested Nov. 5 presidential election.

       Organizers told police they expect the rally may attract more than 50,000 people, NBC4 Washington reported the city's chief of police as saying.

       A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed that Harris' lead had eroded to just 44% to 43% among registered voters. Harris has led Trump in every Reuters/Ipsos poll since she entered the race in July, but her advantage has steadily shrunk since late September.

       Trump and his allies have sought to play down the violence of Jan. 6, when thousands of his supporters stormed the Capitol, sending lawmakers fleeing for their lives and chanting "Hang Mike Pence" the vice president, after Trump's address on the Ellipse, where as president he told the crowd to "fight like hell" to prevent Pence and Congress from ratifying his loss.

       Four people died in the ensuing riot at the Capitol, and one police officer who defended the Capitol died the following day. Trump has said that if reelected, he would pardon the more than 1,500 participants who have been charged with crimes.

       Trump on Tuesday defended his widely criticized New York rally on Sunday that featured vulgar and racist remarks by allies, calling the event "an absolute lovefest."

       Trump did not comment on the rhetoric used by speakers at the event, where a comedian called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage" and disparaged Black Americans, Jewish people, Palestinians and Latinos.

       Though his campaign has said the comments about Puerto Rico did not reflect the former president's views, Trump called the event a lovefest. "And it was my honor to be involved," he said.

       COURTING HISPANIC VOTERS

       Some 51 million Americans have already voted in the election, according to Election Hub at the University of Florida, in a battle that will decide who runs the world's richest and most powerful country for four years.

       Harris, who would be the first female president, and Trump, seeking a return to office after his 2017-21 term, diverge on support for Ukraine and NATO, tariffs that could trigger trade wars, abortion rights, taxes and basic democratic principles.

       The candidates are neck and neck in the seven battleground states that will decide the election.

       Trump has said Harris would be too dangerous to serve as president, pointing to foreign wars and high levels of immigration during her tenure as vice president.

       He said she had waged a campaign of destruction. "But really more than anything else it's a campaign of hate," he said.

       Both candidates are seeking to cement voters' opinions in the final days of a historically close election.

       Trump aims to capitalize on voters' unhappiness with rising prices and immigration, while Harris has emphasized abortion rights and has described Trump as an aspiring dictator who would undermine U.S. democracy.

       Trump was due later in the day to visit a heavily Hispanic city in Pennsylvania, two days after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's comments about Puerto Rico drew outrage at the New York rally.

       Puerto Ricans are the largest Hispanic group in Pennsylvania, the most crucial battleground state to win as it holds the highest number of Electoral College votes of the septet, according to the Census Bureau. REUTERS