CHICAGO, Illinois — Kamala Harris made history Thursday night, accepting her party’s nomination to become president and vowing to unite a bitterly divided country.
“I know there are people of various political views watching tonight,” she said. “And I want you to know. I promise to be a president for all Americans.”
The vice president sought to define herself as the daughter of immigrants who understands middle-class values. Her mother immigrated to America at age 19 with the hope of curing breast cancer. After her parents split up, the family lived in an apartment in a working class neighborhood of San Francisco with “firefighters, nurses, and construction workers.”
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As a career prosecutor, she had just “one client: the people.”
Meanwhile, she painted her opponent, Donald Trump, as a selfish, out-of-touch real estate mogul. “I think everyone here knows he doesn’t actually fight for the middle class. Instead he fights for himself and his billionaire friends.”
Kamala Harris reacts to a balloon drop during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Andrew Harnik/Getty ImagesHarris at length spoke of what has become a central theme in her campaign for the White House: consider the alternative if Trump is re-elected.
“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man,” she said. “But 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,” she added. “Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails—and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had: himself.”
Also on Trump’s side, Harris suggested, are America’s enemies and strongmen.
“Dictators like Kim Jung Un are rooting for Trump because they know, they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors,” she said.
Tim Walz (L) and wife Gwen approach US Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris at the conclusion of the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention.
ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty ImagesHarris made no mention of being the first Black woman to become a major political party's presidential candidate. Yet she received a heroes’ welcome from attendees who may have been expecting Beyoncé.
The crowd got louder than it had been all week. The convention floor looked like a sea of waving American flags. When Harris got to the relevant moment in her speech, the chants of “not going back” reverberated from so many corners that the audience couldn’t get in sync.
The vice president hit several of the talking points that have done well for her on the campaign trail, especially around protecting abortion rights. Some of the loudest cheers of the night came when Harris mentioned the war in the Middle East, promising to stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself while also ensuring peace for Palestinians.
Balloons fall as Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris celebrates with her family after accepting the Democratic presidential nomination.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesIt was a very different reception than the one President Joe Biden might have gotten had he stayed in the race.
“The path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected,” Harris said, acknowledging the last-minute nature of her candidacy. “But I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys.”
With Biden's endorsement, Harris quickly locked down the support of all her potential rivals and united the Democratic Party to a degree it hasn't seen in years. She excited the voters who were cool on Biden, especially young people and people of color. She shattered fundraising records, bringing in about $500 million in total since launching her candidacy.
Her selection of Tim Walz as her running mate was also met with approval inside her own party, and the pair's whirlwind tour of battleground states attracted thousands who have waited hours in the heat and rain to see them.
In the hall, at least, everyone seemed thrilled to go on that journey with her. She talked little of the historic nature of her candidacy and avoided wearing the suffragette white that Hillary Clinton donned eight years ago, opting instead for a black suit with a bow at the neck—perhaps not to jinx it.
“Together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told,” Harris said as she was drowned out by cheers.
