Harris accepts historic presidential nomination, says election offers "fleeting opportunity" to move past "bitterness, cynicism"
Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday, framing the upcoming election as an opportunity for the nation to "chart a new way forward" and encouraging voters to write the "next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told."
Harris makes history as the first Black woman to lead a major party's presidential ticket, and her remarks closed out the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
"My entire career, I've only had one client: the people. And so, on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, on behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams, and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America," she said.
Harris kicked off her speech by offering her thanks to President Biden, calling his character "inspiring," and she predicted history would look favorably upon his record in office. The vice president used her remarks to share her life story about being raised by a single mother in California and the circumstances that motivated her to become a prosecutor. She also urged voters to look to a future that moves past division and embraces unity.
But she did not hold back in attacking her opponent in November, former President Donald Trump, whom she lambasted as an "unserious" person found guilty by a jury of his peers for committing felony crimes and who acts only in his own interests.
"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.
The vice president said the upcoming election is "not only the most important of our lives, it is one of the most important in the life of our nation."
"Let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities," she said. "We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world and on behalf of our children and our grandchildren and all of those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment."
A promise of unity
Harris' acceptance speech caps not only the four-day convention, but a whirlwind first four weeks of her presidential campaign, which launched after Mr. Biden announced he would be ending his bid for reelection. Harris quickly announced her own White House run and earned endorsements from Mr. Biden, the Obamas, the Clintons and a slew of other key figures in the Democratic Party.
The vice president's newly minted campaign raked in more than $200 million in its first seven days, and Harris' haul swelled to nearly $500 million raised in her first four weeks as a presidential candidate.
She announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate earlier this month, and the pair quickly hit the campaign trail for a series of events together in battleground states.
Democrats officially nominated Harris for president with a virtual roll call vote of state delegations conducted earlier this month, a milestone as she became the first Black woman to top a major party ticket. If elected in November, Harris will shatter more barriers as the first woman to become president.
While Harris has served as vice president for the past three years and before that as a U.S. senator from California, she used her speech to reintroduce herself to the American people and described how her middle-class upbringing shaped her views.
"The path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected," she said. "But I'm no stranger to unlikely journeys."
She recalled moving often as a child, and eventually settling around San Francisco, where she was raised by a community of caretakers. Harris shared with the audience the lessons learned from her mother, including to "never do anything half-a**ed," which she said was a "direct quote."
The vice president also made an appeal directly to Republicans, independents and undecided voters with a pledge to unify the nation.
"I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred America's fundamental principles, from the rule of law, to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power," Harris told convention attendees. "I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations. A president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical, and has common sense, and always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my life's work."
Democrats have focused on themes of unity and joy throughout their gathering in Chicago, and have sought to give voters a look at Harris' personal life with a speech from her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, and appearances by her family members, including her sister, Maya Harris. Emhoff described the vice president as a "joyful warrior" and worked to convince voters that she will look out for them as she has done for her own family.
Harris' speech came on their 10th wedding anniversary, which she acknowledged to her husband at the beginning of her remarks.
Harris lays out her agenda
A former prosecutor and the top law enforcement official in California, Harris has fought back against criticism by Republicans about her record on crime and immigration, two issues that are focal points of Trump's campaign.
"I know the importance of safety and security, especially at our border," she said.
Harris noted that the White House negotiated with Senate Republicans and Democrats on a bipartisan immigration deal that Trump derailed when he announced his opposition to it earlier this year.
"I refuse to play politics with our security," she said, pleading to revive the plan. "I know we can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration system. We can create an earned pathway to citizenship and secure our border."
Harris previewed her economic and health care agenda and pledged to pass a tax cut for the middle class that she said would benefit 100 million Americans.
"I will bring together labor and workers and small business owners and entrepreneurs and American companies to create jobs, to grow our economy and to lower the cost of everyday needs like health care and housing and groceries," she said.
Harris also vowed to sign into law legislation that restores federal abortion protections, which the Supreme Court dismantled when it overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
"I believe America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives, especially on matters of heart and home," she said.
Harris warned that if Trump were to be elected, his administration would outlaw medication abortion and enact a nationwide ban on the procedure. She also cited policy proposals from abortion rights opponents to require states to report rates of miscarriages and abortions.
"Simply put, they are out of their minds," she said. "And one must ask, why exactly is it that they don't trust women? Well, we trust women."
On foreign policy, Harris vowed to support NATO allies and Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression, and, on the Israel-Hamas war, she called for a cease-fire deal that would include the release of Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas.
"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 Oct. 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a musical festival," she said.
Still, Harris condemned the situation in Gaza and lamented the "innocent lives lost."
"The scale of suffering is heartbreaking," she said. "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 attacks Trump as an "unserious man"
The vice president lambasted the former president and warned the crowd about what his second term in office will bring, invoking Project 2025, the presidential transition initiative overseen by the The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. While Trump has repeatedly distanced himself from the initiative's policy agenda, many members of his administration were involved in it and hundreds of its proposals match his past policies and current campaign promises.
"In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man," Harris said. "But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious."
She pointed to the Supreme Court's recent decision granting former presidents immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts as empowering Trump more. The ruling stemmed from federal charges Trump is facing in Washington, D.C., as a result of his alleged attempt to subvert the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election.
"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," she said.
Harris accused Trump of trying to throw away Americans' votes after the 2020 election and, when his efforts failed, sending a mob of his supporters to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The crowd breached the Capitol building where lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence were convened to tally state electoral votes, prompting their evacuation.
"He fanned the flames, and now for an entirely different set of crimes, he was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans and separately found liable for committing sexual abuse," she said.
Trump was convicted in New York of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records stemming from a hush-money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels after the 2016 election. A jury also found Trump liable for sexually abusing columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996.