Amid euphoric scenes, Kamala Harris accepted her party’s nomination as presidential candidate at the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago.
Here are five takeaways from her speech to delegates as her battle for the White House against Donald Trump officially began.
1 – Historian
That evening, Kamala Harris made history: she was the first woman of color from either party to be nominated as a presidential candidate.
On the night the woman who could become America’s first female president spoke, many delegates wore white in honor of the suffragette movement.
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Republicans: Trump is a “weak man pretending to be strong”
But Harris did not wear white, perhaps because she did not want to dwell too much on the historic nature of her candidacy.
But it is worth pausing for a moment and remembering that three of the most important speeches of the convention were given by black women: Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and now Harris.
Kamala Harris speaks at the Democratic Party Convention. Image: AP
2 – Unit
“Kamala Harris for the people” was the campaign slogan of her ultimately unsuccessful presidential candidacy in 2020 and she repeated it tonight.
Harris describes herself as a candidate of unity, focusing on the idea that she is fighting for ordinary people – she talks about her working-class roots and her job at McDonald’s – while portraying Donald Trump as a member of the elite whose economic policies are geared towards taking care of his billionaire friends.
3 – Personal story
Even though she has been in the White House for four years, her story is not really known to people in many parts of the United States.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris kisses Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff after the nomination. Image: AP
Her speech began with a look back at her mother Shyamala’s journey from India to California at the age of 19, before she met her Jamaican father.
She spoke about her struggles to afford a home in the San Francisco Bay Area and how her passion to become a prosecutor was sparked by witnessing injustice in her own life.
4 – How will she challenge Donald Trump?
The campaign theme of denigrating Donald Trump continued, with Harris’ running mate Tim Walz coining the term “weird” to describe Trump and his running mate JD Vance.
In her speech, Harris called Trump an “unserious” man, but then issued serious warnings about the consequences of a second Trump presidency.
“Think of his explicit intention to release violent extremists,” she said, “his explicit intention to imprison journalists, political opponents and anyone he considers an enemy.”
5 – Politics
Harris’ campaign has been derided for being too vocal and too few policy details. While we didn’t learn much new in terms of explicit policy details from this speech, it did provide a glimpse of what a Harris presidency might look like.
Her speech included sections on housing, reproductive rights, and Israel and Gaza.
Undecided voters now have a better idea of what kind of president she would be.
