Kamala Harris at DNC ​​Calls on Americans to Reject Division and Defeat Trump’s Threat

CHICAGO — Vice President Kamala Harris urged Americans to join her in “charting a new path forward” as she accepted the Democratic nomination on Thursday, arguing that her personal history and prosecutorial experience make her uniquely qualified to protect their interests and defeat Republican Donald Trump.

Harris was greeted with a thunderous standing ovation as she took the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. She sought to introduce herself to the American public and outline her vision for leading the country over the next four years.

“This election offers our nation a precious, fleeting opportunity to move beyond the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past,” Harris said. “A chance to chart a new path forward. Not as members of a party or a faction, but as Americans.”

Harris’ speech in Chicago caps a tumultuous eight weeks in American politics and highlights a stunning turnaround in Democratic fortunes just 75 days before Election Day. Party leaders who publicly despaired of President Joe Biden’s candidacy after his disastrous debate with Trump were jubilant both about the historic nature of Harris’s candidacy and their raised hopes for this November.

The daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, Harris became the first black woman and person of South Asian descent to accept a major party’s presidential nomination. If elected, she would be the first female president of the United States.

“America, the path that has brought me here in recent weeks has undoubtedly been unexpected. But I am no stranger to unlikely journeys,” she said.

Harris recounted being raised primarily by her mother after her parents divorced in a diminutive apartment in San Francisco’s East Bay, as well as by friends and caregivers who were her “love interest family.” She also detailed a key part of her political history, when Wanda, her best friend from high school, confided in her that she had been molested by her stepfather and moved in with the Harris family.

“That’s one of the reasons I became a prosecutor. To protect people like Wanda,” Harris said.

Describing her career as a prosecutor, state attorney general, senator and now vice president, Harris said, “Throughout my career, I’ve had only one client: the people.” Meanwhile, she said Trump has acted solely in the interests of “the only client he’s ever had: himself.”

As she walked on stage, she saw a sea of ​​Democratic delegates and supporters dressed in white, the color of women’s suffrage, a movement that culminated when American women gained the right to vote in 1920.

A festive mood filled the United Center throughout the evening, with the packed audience, including her colleague Tim Walz, dancing and singing along to a mix of pop and classic rock. Harris’ two adolescent great-granddaughters were invited on stage by actress Kerry Washington to remind the conventioneer how to pronounce her name correctly. On the girls’ command, one side of the arena shouted “comma” and the other “la.”

Harris made a direct appeal to anti-Trump Republicans to put aside their partisan labels and support her over Trump, who has denied his 2020 election defeat to Biden, which inspired the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“I know there are people of all political persuasions watching tonight, and I want you to know that I promise to be a president for all Americans,” Harris said. “I promise to be a president for all Americans, to preserve America’s sacred constitutional principles, founding principles, from the rule of law and fair elections to the peaceful transition of power.”

Harris appeared during the speech when, referring to Donald Trump, she repeatedly mentioned “his clear intent” to release those who attacked law enforcement officers at the Capitol, jail political opponents and apply the military against American citizens.

“Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again,” she added.

Despite speculation about a potential surprise appearance by music star Beyoncé at the convention on Thursday ahead of Harris’ speech, a source involved in the planning of the evening, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter, said Beyoncé will not be in attendance.

Among the others who spoke before Harris on Thursday were Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Gabby Giffords, an Arizona Democrat who was nearly killed in a 2011 mass shooting, and civil rights leader Al Sharpton.

Sharpton emphasized the historic nature of Harris’ nomination, noting that 52 years ago he was youth director for Shirley Chisholm’s 1972 Democratic primary bid for the White House. Chisholm, who was black, died in 2005, but Sharpton drew cheers when he declared, “I know she’s watching us tonight as a black woman stands to accept the nomination for president of the United States.”

Sharpton also introduced the now-acquitted Central Park Five — black teenagers wrongly convicted of a 1989 rape in New York City. Trump took out full-page newspaper ads at the time calling for the five to be sentenced to death — and even today he has avoided calls for an apology.

Meanwhile, Republicans rushed to define Harris, accusing her of being a “communist” and “dangerously liberal.” Trump did too. he was aiming at her racewhile his vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance describes her as a “chameleon.”

The convention gave the main speaking slot to former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a Republican critic of Trump, who said: “Any policy we disagree on pales in comparison to these fundamental questions of principle. Decency. Allegiance to this nation. To my fellow Republicans: If you still pledge allegiance to those principles, I suspect you belong here, too.”

In portraying Harris as a better guarantor of the country’s security, former Obama administration Defense Secretary Leon Panetta invoked Ronald Reagan, while Democratic congressman Ruben Gallego of Arizona criticized Trump for attacking the tardy GOP Sen. John McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential candidate.

“John McCain was an American hero,” Gallego said. “Show some respect.”

Harris’ team highlighted her law enforcement past, including time spent as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general. She was later elected to the U.S. Senate and sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

Her campaign collapsed before a single vote was cast in the primary, but Biden chose her as his vice presidential running mate, catapulting her onto the national stage.

Although Harris initially struggled as vice president, her reputation soared once she became head of the administration. leading advocate of abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Democrats used anger over that decision to stave off their losses in recent midterm elections.

When Biden stumbled in his debate with Trump in June, Harris defended him until he decided to drop out of the race. With his support, she quickly united the Democratic Party around her candidacy, presidential race reset that Trump seemed to be on track to win.