Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday officially accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, vowing to unite the country and bring a practical perspective to the presidency if she is elected in November.
“I know there are people of various political views watching tonight,” Harris said in her keynote address on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
“And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans,” she said.
“I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations,” Harris said. “A president who leads — and listens. Who is realistic. Practical. And has common sense. And always fights for the American people.”
Harris also promised that building the middle class “will be a defining goal of my presidency.”
“This is personal for me. The middle class is where I come from,” she said.
That line channeled the rhetoric of President Joe Biden, who made history in late July when he withdrew his reelection bid and endorsed Harris as his replacement.
But Harris’ speech also gave her an opportunity to uncouple herself from the 81-year-old incumbent — who has been dogged by low approval ratings — and pitch a “new way forward.”
“With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past,” she said. “Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.”
The speech capped the DNC’s four-day parade of politicians, celebrities, activists, entertainers and everyday Americans, ranging from Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton to the wrongfully imprisoned members of the Central Park 5.
It also mirrored the patriotic overtures and positive vibes that defined much of the convention — a clear effort to appeal to more moderate voters, and defang Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump‘s attempts to label Harris a far-left “Marxist.”
That tone serves another purpose: Underscoring Democrats’ recent refrain that both the former president Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, are “weird” and don’t represent most of the country.
“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man,” Harris said Thursday night.
“But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”
She warned that Trump would be empowered if rewarded with a second term, referencing a recent Supreme Court ruling that granted former presidents “presumptive immunity” from criminal prosecution for their official acts.
“Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails,” she said, adding that he would wield it “to serve the only client he has ever had: himself.”
She mentioned the Supreme Court again later in the speech, when she hammered Trump for having “hand-picked” three justices who helped overturn longstanding federal abortion rights.
Harris also took an offensive stance on immigration, one of the issues where the Biden-Harris administration has received its lowest approval marks.
She blasted Trump for opposing a bipartisan border security bill, saying he ordered Republicans to “kill the deal” because he thought it would hurt his campaign.
“As president, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed. And I will sign it into law,” she said.
She went on to reaffirm her support for Israel, rebuking Trump, who has claimed Harris “hates” the Jewish state, while acknowledging the “devastating” loss of life in Gaza and vowing to keep working toward a ceasefire.
And, she added, “I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators, like Kim Jong Un, who are rooting for Trump.”