'New way forward': Kamala Harris rejects political division in DNC speech
ITV News US Correspondent Dan River reports from Chicago as Kamala Harris closed off the Democratic National Convention with a rousing 40-minute speech
Kamala Harris summoned Americans to reject political division and instead chart what she called a “new way forward,” as she accepted her party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday.
Taking the stage to a thunderous standing ovation, the vice president argued that her personal story and background as a prosecutor made her uniquely qualified to protect Americans' interests against a former president she cast as only having his own interests in mind.
“Our nation with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past,” Harris said.
“A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.”
The daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, Harris became the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to accept a major party’s presidential nomination and she would become the first female president if elected.
Harris did not explicitly reference the historic firsts she would set in her 40-minute speech, and she only mentioned the words “Democrat” or “Republican” in the context of discussing a bipartisan border bill that Trump helped scuttle earlier this year, which she promised to sign into law if elected.
She was joined for the traditional balloon drop by a large blended and mixed-race family.
Earlier, two of her grandnieces had led the packed United Center in teaching people how to pronounce her name, which means lotus in Sanskrit.
“America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected," Harris said. "But I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys."
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Harris made a direct call to Republicans who don't support Trump to put aside party labels and to support her over Trump.
She also made reference to how the former president denied his loss to Biden in the 2020 election, which inspired the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
“I know there are people of various political views watching tonight, and I want you to know I promise to be a president for all Americans,” Harris said.
“I promise to be a president for all Americans to hold sacred America’s constitutional principles, fundamental principles, from the rule of law and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power.”
The vice president also vowed to work toward an end to end the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas, while not hesitating to protect US forces from aggression by Iran and other adversaries.
While she pledged to “always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself" after Hamas' October 7 attack and pushed for the release of the hostages and the implementation of a cease-fire deal, she highlighted the plight of Palestinian civilians as well.
Pro-Palestinian protesters and members of the “uncommitted” movement in the arena sharply criticized convention organizers for not inviting a Palestinian American onstage.
“What has happened in Gaza in the last 10 months is devastating, so many innocent lives lost,” Harris said.
“Desperate, hungry people fleeing to safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking.”
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