CHICAGO: Vice President Kamala Harris sought to redefine herself for America and draw a sharp contrast with Republican Donald Trump on Thursday as she accepted the Democratic Party's 2024 presidential nomination.
"On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination for president of the United States," Harris said to the roars of Democrats at their national convention.
Harris emerged as the Democratic candidate little more than a month ago when allies of President Joe Biden, 81, forced him to quit the race. If successful, she stands to make history as the first woman elected U.S. president.
The four-day Democratic National Convention has drawn some of the biggest names in politics and music.
On the final, and most anticipated, night of the convention, Chicago’s United Center brimmed with energy – and people. The arena’s 23,500 seats were filled and arena staff briefly blocked more people from entering the facility, saying the city’s fire marshal declared the building at capacity.
Harris emerged as the Democratic candidate little more than a month ago when allies of President Joe Biden, 81, forced him to quit the race. If successful, she stands to make history as the first woman elected U.S. president.
Biden called Harris to wish her luck before her speech, a White House spokesperson said.
Alluding to the divisive rhetoric Trump has used on the campaign trail, Harris will promise to "be a president for all Americans."
Nearly four years as VP
A former California attorney general, Harris' presidential ambitions were apparent for years, but they had been undermined by her own shaky 2020 campaign and bumps along the way of her nearly four years as vice president.
"With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a New Way Forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans," she said.
Country band The Chicks sang the national anthem, and Pink performed in Chicago's United Center, an arena that seats more than 20,000 people
The Central Park Five, Black men who were exonerated after being wrongly convicted of rape as teenagers and incarcerated for years, got a standing ovation. Members criticized Trump, who as a New York City real estate developer denounced the teenagers at the time. He refused to recant his incorrect claims.
The Democratic crowd went wild for Senator Elizabeth Warren, who grew emotional and wiped away tears. Warren, who made her own White House bid in 2020, delivered a ringing endorsement of Harris as she belittled Trump as "the felon."
Victims of gun violence, including former U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords, also appeared.
Former U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger, one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Trump, was one of several Republicans to speak at the convention against Trump.
"Democracy knows no party," Kinzinger said, telling his fellow Republicans that "Democrats are as patriotic as us. They love this country as much as we do."
Over the last three days, Democrats have sought to define themselves as the voice of American values from small towns to overseas.
Harris' forceful stump speeches have been met by a surge in enthusiasm from voters ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Harris has raised a record-breaking $500 million in a month and has narrowed the gap or taken the lead against Trump in many opinion polls of battleground states that will decide the election.
Unresolved Gaza issues
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 got little attention at the convention, which could hurt them at the polls.
Delegates from the Uncommitted National Movement, which mobilized nearly 750,000 voters to withhold support for Biden during the presidential primaries, entered the venue linking arms and took their seats. Members spent Wednesday night on the sidewalk outside the convention to protest the DNC's rejection of their request for a Palestinian speaker.
Harris has yet to articulate much of her vision for the country, and Republicans say Democrats have spent more time attacking Trump than elaborating on how they would govern.
Aides say she will discuss her plans to cut taxes for most Americans, boost the housing supply and ban what she calls "price gouging" by grocers. 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 curbs on reproductive rights, aides and advisers said.
