Six days until Election Day, much of the political debate is about "garbage."
First, the backlash over a comedian's racist comments about Puerto Rico that former President Donald Trump has not apologized for -- and now President Joe Biden appearing to call Trump's supporters "garbage" and stepping on Vice President Kamala Harris' message of unity aimed at attracting disaffected Republicans.
As of 5:45 a.m. ET on Wednesday, more than 53 million Americans have voted early, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida.
Of the total number of early votes, 27,765,237 were cast in person and 25,686,627 were returned by mail.
President Joe Biden, during a stop at a local ice cream shop in Maryland, told ABC News' Justin Gomez he will be tuning into Harris' speech tonight at the Ellipse.
When asked why he is not attending, Biden responded: "Because it's for her. Because it's her night."
The Harris campaign announced Jennifer Lopez will give remarks in Las Vegas on Thursday. The event will also feature a performance by Maná.
Lopez was one of several Hispanic celebrities to show support for Harris this week after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage" at Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden.
The latest data from the North Carolina Board of Elections shows more than 36 percent of registered voters have cast their ballot -- approximately 2,821,000.
"You don't vote, why should you complain," said Cary resident Curtis Westbrook.
Voters continued to wait more than an hour at some polling locations to cast their ballot ahead of Election Day.
MORE | More than 2 million have already voted in North Carolina in tight race between Trump, Harris
Fencing has been installed ahead of Harris' speech at the Ellipse in Washington.
A new permit issued to the Harris campaign says up to 40,000 people are expected to attend.
The event, for which gates open at 3 p.m. ET, has been advertised to Harris supporters with push alerts, emails and online ads.
The Secret Service said in a statement to ABC News that it is "working closely with our federal and local partners to ensure the safety and security of Vice President Harris and all attendees at the campaign event on Tuesday at the White House Ellipse.
Several protest groups have announced plans to protest Harris' speech, including a large group of anti-war and pro-Palestinian protesters from several well known Washington-based groups.
