That's a wrap from the Democratic National Convention.
Democratic National Convention day 4 live: Kamala Harris accepts nomination, blasts Donald Trump, Pink gets standing ovation
Kamala Harris has attacked Donald Trump, saying she will defend the US and take any action, and not 'cosy up to tyrants' from places like North Korea and Iran because America was not going back to another Trump presidency.
Americans “must be worthy of this moment”, Kamala Harris declared in a patriotic address to claim the Democratic presidential nomination, saying it was time to “write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told”.
But the Vice President mixed her call for unity with a withering attack on Donald Trump, declaring her opponent in November’s US election was “an unserious man” who “wants to be an autocrat”.
In the biggest speech of her life, a month after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, she said her candidacy was “unexpected” but that she was “no stranger to unlikely journeys”.
Ms Harris used the final night of the Democratic convention in Chicago to sell herself to voters as a tough prosecutor from a middle class family who was always “for the people”.
“For my entire career, I’ve only had one client: the people,” she said.
“On behalf of the people … on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination for president of the United States of America.”
The 59-year-old Californian spoke for about 35 minutes, far shorter than Mr Trump’s address at last month’s Republican convention, but the Democratic event ended on a hollow note for some attendees after a rumoured appearance by pop star Beyonce did not eventuate.
Musicians P!nk and The Chicks, basketball legend Steph Curry and actors Eva Longoria and Kerry Washington instead brought the star power.
Ms Harris did not unveil any new policy commitments, instead reiterating her pledges to expand the child tax credit for families, restore abortion rights, and legislate immigration reforms which Mr Trump torpedoed earlier this year.
Having largely avoided foreign affairs during the campaign, she trod a careful line on the war in Gaza which sparked mass protests outside the convention.
The Vice President demanded a ceasefire that freed Hamas’s hostages, as she backed Israel’s right to defend itself while also condemning the “heartbreaking” suffering in Gaza, saying it was time for the Palestinian people to realise their “right to self-determination”.
She also used her speech to warn voters against electing Mr Trump “with no guardrails”, hammering him over his “explicit intent” to free the January 6 rioters, jail his opponents, and deploy the US military against American citizens.
The former president hit back on Fox News, asking: “Why didn’t she do the things that she’s complaining about?”
“She’s got four and a half or five months left … she’s not having success, I’m having success,” he said, after posting on social media during Ms Harris’s speech that she turned the US into a “failing nation” and would lead the country into World War III.
Ms Harris described the election as one of the most important in US history and a “precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past”.
“America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities,” she said.
On her tenth wedding anniversary, some of the Vice President’s best lines came from her late mother, who would say to “never let anyone tell you who you are; you show them who you are” and to “never complain about injustice, but do something about it”.
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'A Kamala not seen before': Harris's body spoke
Australian communication and body language expert Dr Louise Mahler has described Vice President Kamala Harris acceptance speech as powerful and a Kamala that we have never seen before.
“Kamala Harris performance was powerful.
“Her entrance had to obligatory clapping, waving, and pointing used so often at these conventions. Repeating “good evening" multiple times as the audience would not stop screaming their enthusiasm.”
“She showed strength in her body, and she was demanding with her gestures.
Her eye contact was piercing, and she kept her posture balanced and centred.”
“This was a Kamala we have not seen before.”
“This was no occasion for the overzealous smiling, the high laugh or karate chop gestures. This was a woman in control, who knows what she was talking about, where she is going and how she is to get there.”
“She framed her messages clearly. Her structure led to three-word messages such as “We trust women”, “Not going back”, “Freedom to vote”, and she brought these to pass through stories that she managed the energy to perfection.”
“Her story of herself having one client – the people – and Donald Trump having one client – himself – was clever and clear.”
“Unlike Trump, she did not allow the acclamations of the audience to carry on, milking them to the end. She seemed driven with purpose to move on and get through the many messages in her time.”
“This was clearly a hugely stressful occasion and the way this showed was through a slight shake/rasp in the voice. Her vocal production is a little tight in the throat, with the stress showing in no other way. She powered through.”
“It was a huge success with her audience who chanted wildly and once again I had the feeling of a butterfly transforming from its chrysalis.”
“This was a woman before us who was strong, clear and focused.”
“With regard to the upcoming debate, many have worried about her – in fact anyone – facing the might of Donald Trump, but in this presentation, she showed us that here is a powerful opponent who is well and truly up to the task.”
“The neigh-sayers need worry no more, in Kamala Harris Trump faces a formidable opponent and one who can topple Trump come November.”
Beyonce a no-show afterall
Despite a full day of rumours, speculation, and seeming confirmation of a special guest, neither Beyonce, Taylor Swift nor Mitt Romney joined Kamala Harris for the DNC grand finale.
The end of Harris' speech, without a Beyonce cameo despite sources "confirming" her appearance to several news outlets, sparked disappointment and cope online as the realization sank in.
Speculation over who would be the surprise guest reached fever pitch in the hours leading up to the main event, with even former presidential candidate Mitt Romney forced to deny "fake news posts".
"I am not the surprise guest at the DNC tonight. My guess is that it will be Beyoncé or Taylor Swift. So disappointing, I know!" he said.
In reality, it was neither and none.
Or as American political commentator Saagar Enjeti, host of the popular Breaking Points podcast, said: "The special guest was the friends we made along the way"
'All talk, no action': Trump rates Harris speech
Donald Trump is, perhaps unsurprisingly, not the biggest fan of Kamala Harris' speech so far, saying it was "ALL TALK, NO ACTION".
"She said she’s going to lower the Cost of Housing, but Houses were More Affordable under TRUMP! Also, why didn’t she do it?" he said.
"No specific programs," he continued. "Why didn’t she do it three and a half years ago?"
"She wants to spend all of our money on Illegal Immigrants that are invading our Country!"
"She said, “Chart a new way forward,” but she’s had three and a half years, and has done nothing but HARM!"
'Nation ready to move forward': Harris
Ms Harris issued a patriotic call to voters as she neared the end of her address.
“Fellow Americans, I love our country with all my heart,” she said.
“Everywhere I go, in everyone I meet, I see a nation ready to move forward. Ready for the next step in the incredible journey that is America.”
“I see an America where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation and inspired the world. That here, in this country, anything is possible. Nothing is out of reach.”
She promised “an America where we care for one another, look out for one another, and recognise that we have so much more in common than what separates us”.
“My mother had another lesson she used to teach: never let anyone tell you who you are; you show them who you are,” Ms Harris said.
“America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness, and endless possibilities.”
The Vice President said Americans “must be worthy of this moment”.
“Let’s get out there, let’s fight for it … let’s vote for it, and together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told,’ she said.
Harris commits to Ukraine, Gaza peace deal
Having mostly avoided foreign affairs so far during the campaign, the Vice President used her speech to highlight her role in defending Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, as she condemned Mr Trump’s stance on the war.
On the war in Gaza – which has been the subject of mass protests at the convention – she said it was “time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done”.
“I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself,” Ms Harris said.
“At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past ten months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost … The scale of suffering is heartbreaking.”
“President Biden and I are working to end this war,” she added, including so that the Palestinian people could realise their “right to self-determination”.
She said dictators were “rooting for Trump” because they could “manipulate him with flattery and favours”.
Harris vows to get border bill up
Ms Harris deliberately took on the illegal immigration influx under the Biden-Harris administration that looms as one of her key vulnerabilities.
She had been tapped by President Joe Biden to deal with the causes of migration in Central America, a role for which she was dubbed the “border czar”.
But she accused Mr Trump of scuttling a bipartisan package of reforms that would have represented the toughest overhaul of America’s border laws in decades – and vowed to sign it into law if she was elected.
“I refuse to play politics with our security,” Ms Harris said.
Trump denies 'Project 2025' attack
One of the main lines of attack against Donald Trump for the duration of the DNC has been to tie the former president to Project 2025.
Mr Trump saved a rare all-caps response to dispute his involvement in the Heritage Foundation's outline for a conservative America.
"LYING AGAIN ABOUT PROJECT 2025, WHICH SHE KNOWS, AND SO DO ALL DEMOCRATS, THAT I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH!
Trump said.
PolitiFact fact-checked the DNC claim, saying Harris and her campaign had "gone too far" in describing the project and its connection to Trump.
"The Harris campaign shared a graphic on X that claimed 'Trump’s Project 2025 plan for workers' would 'go after birth control and ban abortion nationwide', said PolitiFact. "The plan doesn’t call to ban abortion nationwide, though its recommendations could curtail some contraceptives and limit abortion access. What’s known about Trump’s abortion agenda neither lines up with Harris’ description nor Project 2025’s wish list."
'Out of their minds': Harris talks up abortion rights
The Vice President also focused on her campaign theme of fighting for freedom, particularly against the abortion bans which one in three American women are living under.
“This is what is happening in our country because of Donald Trump,” she said.
Reproductive rights have been a powerful electoral issue for Democrats since the Supreme Court – with a conservative majority installed by the former president – overturned the federal right to abortion two years ago.
She said of Mr Trump and his allies: “Simply put, they are out of their minds.”
'Who me?' Trump wonders of Harris' speech
After Kamala Harris spent the better part of 20 minutes railing against Donald Trump, the former president wondered: "Is she talking about me?"
In an attempt to parry Ms Harris' attacks, Mr Trump rejected play a role in the US Capitol riot, saying he told protesters to march "peacefully and patriotically", and his 34 felony convictions, saying his prosecutions were "all started by her and Biden against their political opponent.
"She talked about the Rule of Law but, as Border Czar, she allowed 20 Million people into our Country, many of them Criminals, who are MAIMING and KILLING our people!" Trump said.
"Why didn't she do something about the things of which she complains?" He added. "The Chaos and Calamity is allowing our Country to be infiltrated by Millions of Criminals."
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