DNC Day 4 takeaways: Harris’ big moment, Dems’ rising stars, Gaza protesters shut out

CHICAGO (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris called on Americans to join her to “chart a new way forward” as she accepted the Democratic nomination on Thursday, arguing her personal story and prosecutorial background made her uniquely qualified to protect their interests and beat Republican Donald Trump.

Taking the stage to a thunderous standing ovation at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Harris sought to introduce herself to the American public and outline her vision for leading the nation for the next four years.

“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.”

Harris’ address in Chicago caps a whirlwind eight weeks in American politics and manifests the stunning reversal of Democratic fortunes just 75 days until Election Day. Party leaders who had publicly despaired over President Joe Biden’s candidacy after his disastrous debate against Trump, were jubilant both at the historic nature of Harris’ candidacy and their buoyed hopes for this November.

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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. If elected, she would become the first female U.S. president.

“America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected. But I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys,” she said.

Harris talked about being raised primarily by her mother after her parents divorced in a small apartment in San Francisco’s East Bay, and being raised as well by friends and caregivers who were “family by love.” She also detailed a key part of her political origin story, when Wanda, her best friend from high school, confided in her that she was being abused by her stepfather and came to live with Harris’ family.

“That is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor. To protect people like Wanda,” Harris said.

Outlining her career as a prosecutor, state attorney general, senator and now vice president, Harris said, “My entire career I’ve only had one client: the people.” Meanwhile, she said Trump has only ever acted in the interests of “the only client he has ever had: himself.”

As she took the stage, she saw a sea of female delegates and Democratic supporters wearing white — the color of women’s suffrage — the movement that culminated with American women securing the right to vote in 1920.

A festive mood filled the United Center all evening, with a packed audience including running mate Tim Walz dancing and singing along to a mix of pop and classic rock. Two of Harris’ young grandnieces were brought onstage by actress Kerry Washington to remind the convention how to correctly pronounce her first name. At the girls’ direction, one side of the arena shouted “comma” and the other “la.”

Harris made a direct appeal to anti-Trump Republicans to put aside party labels and to support her over Trump, who denied his loss to Biden in the 2020 election, which inspired the Jan. 6 2021 Capitol insurrection.

“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 prosecutor in Harris surfaced during the speech when, in referring to Donald Trump, she referred several times to “his explicit intent” to free those who assaulted law enforcement officers at the Capitol, jail political opponents, and use the military against American citizens.

“Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again,” she added.

Despite speculation about a potential surprise appearance by the music superstar Beyoncé at Thursday’s convention ahead of Harris’ speech, a source involved in the evening’s planning who was not authorized to discuss it publicly said she would not be in attendance.

Among others who spoke before Harris on Thursday were Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Gabby Giffords, the Arizona Democrat who was nearly killed in a mass shooting in 2011, and civil rights leader Al Sharpton.

Sharpton highlighted the historic nature of Harris’ nomination, noting that 52 years ago, he was a youth director for former Rep. Shirley Chisholm’s 1972 Democratic primary bid for the White House. Chisholm, who was Black, died in 2005, but Sharpton drew cheers when he declared, “I know she’s watching us tonight as a Black woman stands up to accept the nomination for president of the United States.”

Sharpton also introduced the now-exonerated members of the Central Park Five — the Black teenagers who were wrongly convicted of rape in New York City in 1989. Trump took out full-page newspaper ads at the time calling for five to receive the death penalty — and even today sidesteps calls to apologize.

Republicans, meanwhile, have raced to define Harris, accusing her of being a “communist” and “dangerously liberal.” Trump has also targeted her race, while his running mate JD Vance describes her as a “chameleon.”

The convention granted a prime speaking slot to former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a Republican critic of Trump’s who said: “Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamental matters of principle. Of decency. Of fidelity to this nation. To my fellow Republicans: If you still pledge allegiance to those principles, I suspect you belong here, too.”

Casting Harris as the better guarantor of the nation’s security, former Obama administration Defense Secretary Leon Panetta evoked Ronald Reagan and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona slammed Trump for targeting the late Republican Sen. John McCain, the GOP nominee for president in 2008.

“John McCain was an American hero,” Gallego said. “Show some respect.”

Harris’ team has emphasized her law enforcement background, including her time as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general. She was later elected to the U.S. Senate and sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

Her campaign imploded that year before a single primary vote was cast, but Biden chose her as his running mate, catapulting her to the national stage.

Although Harris initially struggled as vice president, her reputation grew when she became the administration’s leading advocate for abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Democrats harnessed anger over the decision to stem their losses in the last midterm elections.

When Biden stumbled in his debate with Trump in June, Harris defended him until he decided to drop out of the race. With the help of his endorsement, she swiftly unified the Democratic Party behind her candidacy, resetting a presidential race that Trump had appeared on track to win.

Here are some takeaways from the Democrats’ final night.

Democrats for change

Harris’ speech completed a remarkable four-day effort by the party in the White House to contend that it is the real change agent in this election.

Democrats were helped in making that argument by Trump’s outsized presence in the political dialogue over the past nine years. They got another boost when Biden stepped aside for Harris, giving voters a fresh choice.

Harris tried to capitalize on that, telling delegates and the nation: “With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past.”

Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, made a similar pitch a day earlier when he wrapped up his speech by slamming Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, saying, “I don’t know about you, I’m about ready to turn the page on these guys.”

The Trump campaign, for its part, argues that voters want to turn the page on the Biden-Harris administration and the past four years.

Playing to fear as much as joy

As much as her campaign is about joy, Harris devoted a considerable chunk of her speech to what she said were the risks of another Trump term, calling the election “one of the most important in the life of our nation.”

Her focus on Trump showed that fear remains a powerful motivator for many voters and she wants to tap into that.

Harris described how Trump inspired the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol and his fraud conviction. She talked about his willingness to deploy the military against U.S. citizens — and the ability to do so with immunity from criminal consequences due to a recent Supreme Court ruling.

“Just imagine: Donald Trump with no guardrails,” she warned.

Job One: Telling her origin story

Harris’ first order of business upon taking the convention stage was introducing herself.

Her sudden elevation after Biden’s abrupt withdrawal from the race means many people are just now starting to size her up.

That presents an opportunity for her — and a risk if Trump and his allies succeed in defining her first. On the convention stage, Harris told her origin story with warmth, humor and intensity.

She detailed the unlikely pairing of her parents: two students — one from India, the other from Jamaica. Her family’s many moves across the U.S. And her own desire to become a lawyer after discovering a high school friend had been sexually abused.

And she placed particular emphasis on the work ethic that her mother instilled in her.

“Never do anything half-assed,” Harris said her mother would tell her.

Firsts not mentioned

Harris would be the first woman president if she wins, as well as the first South Asian, the first Black woman. That’s been brought up by dozens of convention speakers. But the candidate herself didn’t mention it.

Harris acknowledged that hers was an “uncertain journey,” the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants who was raised by a single mother after her parents split up. But she didn’t dwell on the historic nature of her candidacy.

That’s in stark contrast to the last woman to lose to Trump, Hillary Clinton, who made breaking the glass ceiling a key part of her campaign. Instead, Harris seems to be following the path of Barack Obama, who didn’t have to tell everyone he’d be the first Black president, but threaded his life story into an argument for why voters should back him.

A new generation gets its moment in the spotlight

The convention didn’t just formally mark the exit of 81-year-old Biden from the campaign. It served as a showcase for the younger Democrats in the political talent pool.

Speakers included swing state up-and-comers like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who painted Trump as out of touch and told delegates that “with Kamala Harris, she gets us. She sees us. She is us.” Others featured during the week: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, both of whom made the shortlist when Harris was searching for a running mate.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel brought down the house with her address earlier in the week when she warned Republicans and the U.S. Supreme Court, “You can pry this wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hand!”

There were also rising blue-state celebrities like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Angela Alsobrooks, Maryland’s Democratic nominee for an open Senate seat, and 34-year-old New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — all of whom are seen as representing a new generation of Democrats.

It was only a few years ago that Democrats worried they had too little talent in the pipeline, after scores of officeholders were wiped out in the off-year elections under President Barack Obama. But they’ve seen a resurgence in the Trump era.

Palestinian supporters never got to address the convention

Pro-Palestinian delegates never got the chance to take the stage and address the convention. It was a reflection of how the party has tried to avoid one of the more divisive issues of this election season as the U.S. alliance with Israel has become a political flashpoint.

Israel’s response to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas has spurred outrage over mass casualties and human rights violations in Gaza, and pro-Palestinian demonstrators have marched outside the arena each day.

“Uncommitted” delegate Abbas Alawieh had been in talks with DNC officials about speaking to the hall. After being rejected, he and other delegates chose to spend Wednesday night on the sidewalk outside the convention hall in protest.

“When we ran out of options as uncommitted delegates, we just sat down,” Alawieh said Thursday.

Harris declared she would “always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself,” while saying “at the same time” that the “scale of suffering” in Gaza is “heartbreaking.” She indicated that the suffering could end with a cease-fire and the release of hostages taken in the October raid. On Wednesday, the parents of one of the young men being held hostage in Gaza addressed the convention.

Convention reflects the party’s emotional whiplash since Biden dropped out

Harris’ nominating convention has been a four-day romp imbued with a party-like atmosphere and a sense of optimism. It’s safe to say that it would have been a much different gathering were Biden the party’s nominee.

Democrats have been through emotional whiplash since Biden bowed out of the race last month, clearing the path for Harris.

For months Democrats had been despondent about Biden’s polling and his underwhelming speaking appearances. And many Democrats were convinced that Trump could run away with the election.

Contrast that with the convention being held to nominate Harris in Chicago: Laughter filled the air, the mood was electric and searing jokes at Trump’s expense flowed freely. The event has also drawn an A-list slate of talent, from John Legend to Pink.

Not to be forgotten: There also have been words of caution about the hard work ahead.

Turning social issues into economic policies

Polling shows voters have consistently felt Republicans are better on the economy — a perception that Democrats are trying to fix.

High inflation hounded Biden’s popularity. Now Trump is trying to assign the blame to Harris as well, going so far as to call her a communist by nicknaming her “Comrade Kamala” and misleadingly claiming a relatively healthy economy is actually in tatters.

It’s not clear how well Trump’s criticism will stick to Harris, but Democrats tried to show her economic credentials on Thursday.

The Democrats argue that Harris can do more for the middle class and entrepreneurs as the party tries to reframe social issues as economic ones.

Harris wants to provide $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers. “She knows housing is a human right and a pathway to the middle class,” Marcia Fudge, the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, told the convention.

Harris also wants a $6,000 tax break for new parents and an expanded child tax credit. “Child care makes our economy run,” Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., told delegates.

Editors’ note: This content from The Associated Press has been curated by MyNorthwest editors.