On the evening of Thursday, August 22nd, Kamala Harris stepped off the Chicago De- mocratic National Convention stage as the party’s official presidential candidate. In a 38-minute-long keynote speech, Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for November’s presidential election, reintroducing herself as the American advocate for change and highlighting her stance on key issues.
Re-defining Herself
Harris kicked off the speech by accepting the Democratic party’s nomination on behalf of “every American, regardless of party, race, or gender,” making history as the first Afri- can-American woman and individual of South Asian heritage to become a Presidential candidate. To an online and in-person audience totalling 26.2 million, Harris pledged that the election would be “a chance to chart a new way forward,” with her focus on uplifting American workers. She reminded the crowd that “a strong middle class has always been critical to America’s success” and promised that “building that middle class [would] be a defining goal” of her presidency.
Warnings Against A Second Trump Term
Harris also sounded the siren on the dangers of a second Trump administration presidential term following the recent Supreme Court ruling entitling Trump to broad immunity from criminal prosecution. “Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails,” she stated; “the con- sequences of putting [him] back in the White House are extremely serious,” Harris further claimed.
She urged the crowd to consider not only the events that occurred while he was in office but also his attempts to repeal the 2020 election and his involvement with the Capitol mob at- tacks. Harris warns that in the case of Trump’s re-election, even greater damages to American democracy could be expected given his past behavior.
Landscape in the Polls
Despite the thundering applause for Harris’ nomination acceptance and viewership success for the D.N.C, Democrats are still worried as Trump and Harris fight a close race for crucial swing states across the nation. However, in recent days, Harris’ popularity surged with young, black, and female voters, and generated enthusiasm from key Democratic leaders, including former presidential candidate Hilary Clinton, ex-president Barack Obama, and former first lady Michelle Obama, who all spoke at the D.N.C.
Even so, many Democrats have warned to tread cautiously, noting there is still much work to be done. Harris and Trump are set to meet for their official first presidential debate in September.
