After a star-studded and extremely enthusiastic four days of action in Chicago’s United Center, the Democratic National Convention ended on Thursday with an exclamation point on one of the most chaotic presidential nominating contests in generations.
Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the party’s 2024 nomination for president to applause that probably registered on the Richter scale and — as is tradition — a sea of balloons when her speech concluded.
Harris began by speaking about her roots as the child of immigrants in California, and her early career as a California prosecutor. “My entire career, I have only had one client: the people,” she said.
“And so, on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American — regardless of party, race, gender, or the language your grandmother speaks,” Harris exclaimed. “On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth. I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America.”
Harris made clear that while “in many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man,” the consequences “of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”
“Consider the power he will have — especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails,” Harris said.
The vice president laid out a contrasting vision to the fire-and-brimstone image of America espoused by Trump. “The freedom to live safe from gun violence in our schools, communities and places of worship,” she said. “The freedom to love who you love openly and with pride. The freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis. And the freedom that unlocks all the others, the freedom to vote.”
Harris touched on a wide range of issues, including the need to protect reproductive rights and pass bipartisan legislation to secure the border and create pathways to citizenship for immigrants, as well as the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Amid pro-Palestinian protests over the course of the convention urging Harris to endorse a ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo against Israel, the vice president used her speech to affirm her support for “Israel’s right to defend itself,” but added that “what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating.”
“President Biden and I are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination,” Harris said.
The road to the nomination was a short and unexpected one for Harris, but in the month since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, the vice president has managed to completely shift the party’s outlook with less than three months to go before the November election.
Harris has been campaigning on a message of unity, progress, and joy, advocating for strengthening the middle class through economic reform and protecting reproductive freedom and civil liberties. The DNC’s lineup throughout the convention — which included President Joe Biden, former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, a host of Democratic lawmakers, and even Oprah and Stevie Wonder — championed Harris’ forward-focused vision for the nation.
While Harris and her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz are generating enough enthusiasm among voters to put Democrats back on offense following the disastrous debate that ultimately forced Biden out of the race, the contest between her and Trump remains incredibly tight. In her speech, Harris, like many others who spoke at the DNC this week, warned of the need for voters to remain engaged throughout the next few months and cautioned against overconfidence.
Harris noted that the electoral and prosecutorial battles of her career “were not easy,” nor “were the elections that put me in those offices.”
“We were underestimated at practically every turn,” she said. “But we never gave up, because the future is always worth fighting for. And that is the fight we are in right now. A fight for America’s future. Fellow Americans, this election is not only the most important of our lives. It is one of the most important in the life of our nation.”
The conclusion of the DNC marks the earnest beginning of the race for the White House, with Harris and Walz now officially at the top of the ticket. The fight has already taken on a different tone from the one Biden waged against Trump, with the party shelving its “when they go low, we go high” approach in favor of taking on Republicans at their own game. Walz regularly calls Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance “weird,” Harris’ campaign has been quick to troll the Republican ticket online, and several speakers at the DNC straight up mocked Trump — speaking about the former president less like he is a domineering force set to dismantle democracy and more like he is a tired, pathetic buffoon out to enrich himself.
Trump has taken notice. “Did you see Barack Hussein Obama last night taking little shots?” he said Wednesday after Obama took a few jabs at Trump Tuesday night. “He was taking shots at your president and so was Michelle. You know, they always say, ‘Sir, please stick to policy, don’t get personal,’ but they’re getting personal all night, these people.”
The former president attacked Harris throughout the week, referring to her as “Comrade” while insisting she will turn America into a communist state. It’s unclear if attacking Harris as a radical leftist and portending the end of the world if she wins the election will resonate with the voters, but what’s true now that wasn’t six weeks ago is that Trump is losing ground in the polls and very much on the defensive.
Harris gave a forceful response to the attacks from Trump and Republicans on Thursday night. “My mother had another lesson she used to teach,” she said. “Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are.”
“America, let us show each other and the world who we are,” she added. “And what we stand for. Freedom, opportunity, compassion. Dignity, fairness, and endless possibilities.”
