Vice-President Kamala Harris pledged a “new way forward” for all Americans as she formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday night, delivering a message of unity and urging voters to reject Donald Trump.
November’s election is a chance to “move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past”, she said, bringing her party’s convention in Chicago to a close as balloons rained down and supporters cheered.
Ms Harris’s speech capped off a four-day spectacle designed to highlight her backstory and shape the contours of what remains a vague policy agenda.
She made history as the first black and Asian-American woman to lead a major party’s presidential ticket.
The 59-year-old officially became the Democratic nominee after a fast-moving few weeks that began with President Joe Biden stepping aside in the White House race.
Polls suggest she is now in a tight race with Trump, who offered criticism of Ms Harris’s appearance as it unfolded.
Ms Harris used her nearly-45-minute address, the most important speech of her political career, to reintroduce herself to the nation.
She shared personal anecdotes about growing up in a “beautiful working-class neighbourhood” as the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants.
And she argued that her background as a prosecutor – a detail she avoided emphasising during her 2020 run – made her uniquely qualified to defeat Trump and serve in the Oval Office, as did her record as vice-president under Mr Biden.
Ms Harris also dedicated several minutes of her speech to how her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, shaped her life and political career.
“She taught us to never complain about injustice, but (instead) to do something about it,” Ms Harris recalled. Her sister Maya, 57, also spoke on thee night, saying their mother had been a “trailblazer”, having set “great expectations of us”.
“She raised us to believe that we could be or do anything,” she said, to loud applause. “It’s a distinctly American story.”
Ms Harris made an pitch to aspirational families across America, saying she would create an “opportunity economy where everyone has a chance to compete and a chance to succeed”.
She said she would “end America’s housing shortage” and help entrepreneurs. However, did not describe any specific changes in policy from the administration in which she currently serves.
Trump reacted to his rival’s speech on his social media platform Truth Social, and called into Fox News after the event concluded to criticise her remarks.
He questioned her record during four years in the White House as vice-president.
“Why didn’t she do something about the things of which she complains?” the Republican wrote.
