Harris counting on sharp contrast with Trump

DRAWING THE CROWDS US Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris shows her appreciation to her supporters who filled Chicago’s United Center arena to capacity on Thursday, the last day of the Democratic National Convention, when she formally accepted her party’s nomination for president. —AFP

CHICAGO—US Vice President Kamala Harris sought to redefine herself for America and draw a sharp contrast with Republican Donald Trump as she accepted the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nomination on Thursday.

“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.

The former senator and California attorney general emerged as the Democratic candidate little more than a month ago when allies of President Joe Biden, 81, forced him to quit the race.

READ: The Obamas view Harris as the hope of a post-Trump America

Harris, 59, already stands to make history as first Black woman to run for president under a major US party—more so if her campaign sends her all the way to the White House.

The four-day Democratic National Convention (DNC) drew some of the biggest names in politics and music.

On the convention’s final, most anticipated night, Chicago’s United Center brimmed with energy—and people. The arena’s 23,500 seats were filled and the venue’s staff briefly blocked more people from entering, saying the city’s fire marshal declared the building at capacity.

Biden, who addressed the opening night of the convention, called Harris to wish her luck before her speech.

“She will be an outstanding president because she is fighting for our future,” Biden also said on X.

Alluding to Trump’s rhetoric on the campaign trail, Harris said she will promise to “be a president for all Americans.”

“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.

Former US Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach then President Trump, was one of several Republicans who joined the DNC.

“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.”

Surge in enthusiasm

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.

But since Biden’s withdrawal from the race on July 21, 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.

Democrats have sought to define themselves over the last three days as the voice of American values from small towns to overseas.

But until her speech on Thursday night, Harris had yet to articulate much of her vision for the country, with Republicans accusing Democrats of spending more time attacking Trump than elaborating on how they would govern.

Accepting her nomination, Harris said she will pass a middle tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans if elected.

She also proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21 to 28 percent and discussed plans to fight for abortion rights, boost the housing supply and ban what she called “price gouging” by grocers.

Divisive issue

Harris then delivered a pledge to secure Israel and end the war in the Palestinian enclave.

“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,” she said, even as she acknowledged the “devastating” impact of the conflict in Gaza.

“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.

Thousands of Palestinian supporters had gathered outside the convention center to protest US support for Israel as it wages war in Gaza—one of the most divisive issues among Democrats.

Members of the Uncommitted National Movement, which mobilized nearly 750,000 voters to withhold support for Biden during the presidential primaries, spent Wednesday night on the sidewalk to protest the DNC’s rejection of their request for a Palestinian speaker.

On Thursday their delegates entered the venue linking arms before they took their seats.

But in some of her strongest foreign policy statements to date, Harris vowed to stand with Ukraine in its war against Russia and said she would not cozy up to dictators.

“In the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs,” she said.

Harris was later joined on stage by her running mate Tim Walz and their families, as they held their arms aloft while 100,000 red, white and blue balloons tumbled from the ceiling.

Trump, who is struggling to recalibrate his own campaign, gave a play-by-play commentary on Harris’ speech.

“She will never be respected by the Tyrants of the World!” he said in one of his posts on his social media platform Truth Social. Former US President Barack Obama, who along with his wife, Michelle, delivered rousing support for Harris at the convention on Tuesday, said the vice president “showed the world what I have known to be true.”