After four days of euphoria in Chicago, the Democratic National Convention ended with the official acceptance of Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate for this November’s elections.
Harris, who is currently vice president of the United States, saw her destiny take another turn when, in July, President Joe Biden announced that he would not run for a second term, something that the American electorate overwhelmingly approved, according to a CNN poll at the time.
Vice President Kamala Harris told voters they have a chance to chart a “new path forward” as Americans this November.
“I am no stranger to unlikely journeys,” Kamala Harris began by saying, before telling her family story, highlighting how her mother was an inspiration for the person she is today, before an audience so energetic that it made the candidate’s first words inaudible.
As she took the stage, she saw a sea of Democratic delegates and supporters wearing white – the color of women’s suffrage – the movement that culminated in American women securing the right to vote in 1920.
A festive atmosphere filled the United Center throughout the night, with the venue selling out.
Harris made a direct appeal to anti-Trump Republicans to put aside party labels and support her over Trump, who denied his loss to Biden in the 2020 election that inspired the Capitol insurrection on January 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 uphold America’s sacred constitutional principles, its founding principles, from the rule of law and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power.”
In her argument against her political opponent, Donald Trump, Harris said that “with this election, our nation has a precious opportunity to move beyond the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past,” Kamala Harris continued, also saying that this election is one of the most important in the country’s history.
The polarizing issue called immigration
Security on the southern border with Mexico and the strong influx of undocumented migrants into the United States have been a major campaign issue, especially on the Republican side, with former President Donald Trump having promised in his 2016 campaign to build a wall and having begun construction on it during his term.
On Thursday night in Chicago, Harris hit a nerve, saying that “we can reform our broken immigration system” and arguing that it is possible to create a pathway to U.S. citizenship and strengthen border security at the same time.
January 6th
“Imagine Donald Trump out of control?” appealed the vice president and
describing her career as a prosecutor, state attorney general, senator and now vice president, Harris said, “In my entire career I have only had one client: the people.” The only client she [ele, Trump] already had: himself.”
Referring to Donald Trump, she repeatedly mentioned his “explicit intention” to release those who assaulted police officers at the Capitol, arrest political opponents and use the military against American citizens. “Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again,” she added.
“We trusted women”
In her speech, Harris also addressed what has become the central political issue of her vice presidency and now her campaign: the risk to reproductive rights.
“Tonight in America, many women are not able to make these decisions,” she said.
“And let’s be clear about how we got here: Donald Trump handpicked members of the United States Supreme Court to take away reproductive rights.” He added: “You have to ask why exactly do they not trust women? Well, we trust women.
Gaza and Israel
One of the moments of great applause was when Kamala Harris made the following statements:
“Let me be clear: I will always defend Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure that 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 7th.
At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives have been lost. Desperate and hungry people have fled for safety time and time again. The scale of the suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war so that Israel is safe, the hostages are freed, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.” Celebrities including Spike Lee and Octavia Spencer, who were present at the event, stood up to applaud Harris’s words. There was speculation that Beyoncé would perform at the convention, but the “Run the World (Girls)” star did not attend.
Strong arm promises
Before saying goodbye to a visibly euphoric audience, Kamala Harris also mentioned that “as President, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies” and that “I will never hesitate to do whatever it takes to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iranian-backed terrorists, I will not get close to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un, who support Trump, because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors.”
Harris’s speech in Chicago caps a whirlwind eight weeks in American politics and highlights the surprising reversal of 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 elated both with the historic nature of Harris’s candidacy and with their hopes for November.
Lady of the law, Kamala Harris was Attorney General of the State of California, where she was born, for six years. The daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, she graduated from Howard University, is married, and is the third black Democrat to run for President of the United States. She is the first black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to accept the Democratic nomination.
Harris chose progressive Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
2024-08-23 10:49:21