CHICAGO: Vice President Kamala Harris sought to redefine herself for America and mark a stark contrast with Republican Donald Trump on Thursday as she accepted the Democratic Party's 2024 presidential nomination.
“On behalf of all whose history could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination for president of the United States,” Harris said to roars from Democrats at their national convention.
Harris emerged as the Democratic nominee just over a month ago, when allies of President Joe Biden, 81, forced him out of the race. If successful, she could make history as the first woman elected president of the United States.
The four-day Democratic National Convention has attracted some of the biggest names in politics and music.
On the final and most anticipated night of the convention, Chicago's United Center was buzzing with energy and people. The arena's 23,500 seats were full, and venue staff briefly barred more people from entering the facility, saying the city's fire marshal had declared the building full.
Harris emerged as the Democratic nominee just over a month ago, when allies of President Joe Biden, 81, forced him out of the race. If successful, she could make history as the first woman elected president of the United States.
Biden called Harris to wish her luck before her speech, a White House spokesman said.
Alluding to the divisive rhetoric Trump has used during the campaign, Harris will promise to “be a president for all Americans.”
Almost four years as vice president
Harris, a former California attorney general, had been aiming for the presidency for years, but they were undermined by her own shaky 2020 campaign and the obstacles she encountered along the way during her nearly four years as vice president.
“With this election, our nation has a precious and fleeting opportunity to put behind it the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a new path forward. Not as members of any particular party or faction, but as Americans,” he said.
Country band The Chicks sang the national anthem and Pink performed at Chicago's United Center, a stadium with a capacity of more than 20,000 people.
The Central Park Five, black men who were exonerated after being wrongfully convicted of rape as teenagers and imprisoned for years, received a standing ovation. Members criticized Trump, who as a New York City real estate developer denounced the teens at the time. He refused to retract his incorrect accusations.
The Democratic crowd went wild for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who became emotional and wiped away tears. Warren, who ran for the White House in 2020, expressed her resounding support for Harris while disparaging Trump as “the crook.”
Victims of gun violence also appeared, including former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords.
Former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Trump, was one of several Republicans who spoke at the convention against Trump.
“Democracy knows no parties,” Kinzinger said, telling his fellow Republicans that “Democrats are as patriotic as we are. They love this country as much as we do.”
For the past three days, Democrats have sought to define themselves as the voice of American values from small towns to abroad.
Harris's energetic campaign speeches have sparked a surge in voter enthusiasm ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Harris has raised a record $500 million in a month and has narrowed the gap or taken the lead against Trump in many opinion polls in battleground states that will decide the election.
Unresolved problems in Gaza
Outside the convention center, thousands of Palestinian supporters gathered to protest U.S. support for Israel as it wages war in Gaza. The issue is one of the most divisive among Democrats and received little attention at the convention, potentially hurting them at the polls.
Delegates from the Uncommitted National Movement, which mobilized nearly 750,000 voters to not support Biden during the presidential primary, entered the venue arm in arm and took their seats. Members spent Wednesday night on the sidewalk in front of the convention to protest the DNC’s rejection of their request for a Palestinian president.
Harris has yet to articulate much of her vision for the country, and Republicans say Democrats have spent more time attacking Trump than explaining how they would govern.
Her aides say she will discuss her plans to cut taxes for most Americans, increase housing supply and ban what she calls “price gouging” by supermarkets. Her campaign has also proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%.
The speech will include elements of foreign policy along with stories of women affected by abortion bans and other restrictions on reproductive rights, aides and advisers said.
