Editor’s Note: NBC Chicago offers a live feed of the evening and primetime speeches every day Monday through Thursday in the player above on the 24/7 streaming channel NBC 5 Chicago News. and on NBC Chicago’s YouTube channel.
At the conclusion of the Democratic Party Convention on Thursday evening in Chicago, Vice President Kamala Harris accepts her party’s historic presidential candidacy and uses one of the few remaining opportunities to appeal to an audience of millions.
Harris delivered a brief speech to the convention on Monday, thanking Biden and praising his accomplishments as president. Another speech came on Tuesday, when the start of her rally in Milwaukee was streamed to the convention hall after Democrats confirmed their nomination with a state-by-state roll call.
Harris will lay out her vision for the country and lead her charge against Republican Donald Trump on Thursday, capping a tumultuous month that began when President Joe Biden abandoned his re-election bid and endorsed her as his successor at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Harris has three goals for her speech, according to a campaign official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss preparations for her speech. She will talk about her background, coming from a middle-class family and protecting others as a prosecutor, contrast her “optimistic” vision with Trump’s “dark” agenda and evoke a sense of patriotism, the official said.
Harris will be the first black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to accept the presidential nomination of a major party. She will speak a day after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her vice presidential candidate, thanked the packed United Center for bringing “joy” to the election.
“We are all here tonight for one beautiful, simple reason: We love this country,” Walz said as thousands of delegates held vertical signs reading “Coach Walz” in red, white and blue.
Among those speaking to Harris on Thursday are Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, civil rights activist Al Sharpton and Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers. Singer Pink will also perform.
When will Harris speak at the DNC?
Harris is scheduled to headline the fourth and final day of the convention on Thursday, meaning she will be the last speaker to take the stage.
Speeches on Thursday are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. and last until 10 p.m., but each evening of the congress has so far lasted longer than planned.
Further details on the schedule are expected to be announced at a press conference at 9:00 a.m. CDT, with the full schedule to be announced later Thursday.
What you should know about Harris’ speech
Harris has delivered two notable speeches so far during the convention: a surprise speech at the United Center on the first night of the campaign and a second virtually at a rally in Wisconsin on Tuesday.
But she is widely expected to outline her vision and policy agenda to the American people in her speech on Thursday.
Although Harris’s candidacy has generated great enthusiasm and determination among Democrats, she is still in the process of defining her policy priorities and the ideological direction she will take the party in. Last Friday, she unveiled her first major policy goal when she announced a series of economic measures designed to lower the cost of living for working- and middle-class Americans.
Pop star Pink will be the headliner on the last evening of the convention. The well-known civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton has also announced his speech.
Harris spoke generally about supporting the key goals of the Biden administration, which are more or less advocated in the program in its written form.
Harris laid out a series of new economic proposals last week but otherwise has not released a detailed list of her policy positions since taking the Democratic leadership position. Her campaign aides have suggested she no longer holds some of the more liberal positions she took during her first presidential campaign in 2020, including advocating for a ban on hydraulic fracturing.
On Sunday evening, Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris arrives for the DNC in Chicago.
“You’ve also seen the vice president start laying out her vision for how she wants to move the country forward. That’s why she went to North Carolina last week to lay out some of the first items on her economic agenda, which is aimed at lowering costs for the American people, right?” Michael Tyler, communications director for the Harris-Walz campaign, said Wednesday. “How can we lower the cost of food? Take on the meatpackers. How can we lower the cost of housing for people? First, by building more housing, but also by helping first-time buyers and renters. How can we actually get a tax code that’s fair for the middle class? The vice president wants to give tax relief to the middle class.”
How to watch
All Democratic National Convention plenary sessions will be streamed live on NBC Chicago’s website and mobile app, as well as in the player above.
The speeches will also be available on the NBC 5 Chicago News 24/7 streaming channel and on the NBC Chicago YouTube channel.
Viewers can also look forward to expanded coverage on Telemundo Chicago and the Telemundo Chicago app.
Streaming times (all times Central):
Thursday: 5:30 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
