CHICAGO — Vice President Kamala Harris completed her ascent to the top of her party’s presidential ballot on Thursday, casting the election as a “chance to chart a new way forward” from the divisions of the recent past and reframing her party as the one dedicated to securing Americans’ freedoms.
Bolstered by public officials from both parties and from a variety of walks of life, down to her use of Beyonce’s “Freedom” anthem, Harris outlined her vision for the country, saying she would prioritize a strong middle class, protect reproductive freedoms and strengthen national security. She did so while contrasting that path with what she said a second term for former President Donald Trump would look like. All along, she tried to paint a more optimistic vision for the country, underscoring the “joy” Democrats said they felt throughout this week at Democrats’ national convention.
“Our opponents in this race are out there, every day, denigrating America. Talking about how terrible everything is,” she said. “ Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach. 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. And what we stand for.”
The vice president aggressively targeted Trump, her Republican opponent, who has mocked her as he has attacked his previous political opponents. She warned against him returning to the White House after a recent Supreme Court ruling granted presidents immunity from prosecution for official acts.
“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious,” Harris said.
In addition to introducing herself to Americans by talking about her parents and upbringing, and her experience as a prosecutor, Harris invited independent and Republican voters to support her campaign.
“I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans,” Harris said. “I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations.”
She also addressed the issue that poses the greatest threat to the party’s unity, the war in Gaza. Protesters around the city and outside the United Center this week sought to have a Palestinian-American speaker during the convention.
“President Biden and I are working around the clock, because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done,” she said. “And let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7.”
She also addressed the Palestinian people specifically, saying that she and Biden are working to ensure “the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”
The speech capped off four days of Democratic celebrations here. Harris’ rise to the nomination came after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race just over a month ago, weeks after he struggled during a debate against Trump that led to members of his party calling on him to leave the race and smooth the transition to a new generation. This week’s gathering showcased a party enthusiastic about their White House ticket, a sharp contrast to the weeks during the summer when they grappled with their future.
Even so, the party is still bracing for a close election.
Attendees at the United Center were enthusiastic throughout the night on Thursday. Security was tight but attendees waved American flags and held up “USA” signs. Scores of women throughout the arena wore all white, nodding to the suffragettes and the history that Harris could make as the first female president, something her campaign has let others focus on instead of addressing head on.
Rumors swirled around the United Center throughout the evening that a superstar the likes of Beyonce or Taylor Swift could make an appearance. The singer Pink performed “What About Us” and The Chicks sang the National Anthem.
Harris’ rise in public service began as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, Calif., and she went on to be California’s attorney general, an aspect of her biography she’s emphasized as a contrast to Trump. She was elected to the Senate in 2016 and she raised her profile on the Judiciary and Intelligence committees with her sharp questioning of Trump administration officials.
She ran for president in the 2020 campaign, but dropped out of the race in December 2019, before the primaries began; Biden chose her as his running mate en route to his 2020 victory.
Maya Harris, the vice president’s sister, said their mother led them to chart their own paths, which she said her older sister had done. She said her sister could be a uniting presence for the country.
“We may all have different histories, different struggles or different perspectives, but what binds us together is the fervent desire to be free to fulfill our god-given potential,” Maya Harris said. “Kamala’s entire life has been about fighting for each of us to have that freedom.”
Democrats also put a focus on gun violence during the night’s programming. Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath, whose son was killed by gunfire, led a panel of speakers who spoke about how their lives were affected by mass shootings, including at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. and in Uvalde, Texas.
“Our stories are stories of loss, but make no mistake, our losses do not weaken us. They strengthen our resolve. We will secure safer futures that we all deserve,” McBath said.
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who survived a shooting as a member of Congress in 2011, was greeted with a hero’s welcome by the crowd, who chanted her name as she walked out with her husband, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.
“My friend Kamala will be a great president. She is tough. She has grit. Kamala can beat the gun lobby. She can fight gun trafficking,” Giffords said.
In addition to Kelly, who also gave his own remarks focused on keeping strong alliances, a slew of Democrats in battleground races also took the stage. Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; Bob Casey; D-Pa.; and Reps. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.; Colin Allred, D-Texas; and Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who are all running for Senate. Gallego, speaking just before 10 p.m. on the East Coast, was joined on stage by a slew of Democrats in Congress with military backgrounds, such as Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., and Sen. Thomas R. Carper, D-Del.
Baldwin, who is up for reelection and arrived at the convention Thursday, taking a break in a statewide tour, said Democrats would protect Medicare and Social Security.
“When I work to protect Medicare and Social Security, I do it with the personal knowledge of what those big programs meant in small but deeply meaningful ways to my grandparents,” Baldwin said. “But let’s be clear. That is all at risk today.”
Allred introduced himself as “the guy who is going to turn Texas’s Senate seat blue.”
“In the NFL, we had a term for guys like Donald Trump and my opponent, Ted Cruz. ‘Me-guys.’ You know the type: Talk a big game. Only care about themselves. But you don’t want to be stuck with them at a barbecue,” he said, referencing former President Barack Obama saying ‘we’ is a powerful word. “We’ve got a message for the me-guys. ‘We’ is more powerful than ‘Me.’”
Niels Lesniewski, Aidan Quigley and Daniela Altimari contributed to this report.
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