Democratic Convention: 'We must be worthy of this moment': Kamala Harris accepts nomination

 Kamala Harris has vowed to protect the promise of America: ‘freedom, opportunity, compassion' and urged supporters to 'fight for this country we love'. 

US Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris waves as she arrives to speak on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention.

The fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention has finished as Kamala Harris accepted the party's nomination. Here's how the day unfolded.

Updates

1:19 pm August 23, 2024 Highlight

'We must be worthy of this moment'

Adam Creighton

Kamala Harris waves as she leaves the stage. Picture: AFP.

Kamala Harris has wrapped up her speech which lasted around 40 minutes finishing a little before 10.15pm local time (1.15pm AEST). She promised the crowd she would protect the promise of America: "Freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness, and endless possibilities”.

“We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world, and on behalf of our children and our grandchildren, and all of those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment,” she said, moments before her husband Doug and Tim and Gwen Walz came on the stage to embrace her.

“It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, guided by optimism and faith… To fight for this country we love,” she said, as the crowd roared.

“So 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. Thank you."

1:13 pm August 23, 2024 Highlight

'I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself'

Adam Creighton

Kamala Harris speaks on stage. Picture: AFP.

Kamala Harris has repeated her promise to stand up for Israel's right to defend itself, and called for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

“With respect to the war in Gaza, now is the time to get a hostage deal and ceasefire deal done,” Harris, said turning to an issue that has caused huge division among Democrats, some of whom have demanded the US end financial and military support for Israel.

“I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror a terrorist organisation called Hamas perpetrated on October 7 including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival,” she said.

“At the same time what has happened in Gaza over the last 10 months is devastating, so many innocent lives lost, desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over,” she added.

This was a clear nod to that minority of Democrats who are hoping a Harris-Walz administration would take a tougher line on Israel.

“The scale of suffering is heartbreaking,” she said, promising to ensure the Palestinian people had rights to ”dignity, security, freedom an self-determination”.

1:09 pm August 23, 2024 Highlight

Democrats 'will pass Freedom to Vote Act'

Adam Creighton

Kamala Harris speaks on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention. Picture: AFP.

Turning to voting rights, Kamala Harris promised to pass a Freedom to Vote Act, which would make it easier for Americans to vote. Republicans say it would foster greater levels of voter fraud.

Harris promises to sign into law a bill that was agreed by Democrats and Republicans last year, which Donald Trump ultimately argued against (allegedly because he didn’t want the problem fixed while he was out of office).

Immigration is perhaps Democrats’ weakest point, given the many millions who’ve entered the country during Joe Biden’s presidency.

“As Commander-in-Chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest most lethal fighting force in the world, and I will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families and I will always honour and never disparage their service and their sacrifice,” she said.

She also attacked Trump’s foreign policy record now and alleged isolationism.

“I helped mobilise a global response to defend against Putin," she said. “As president I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies,” she declared.

1:05 pm August 23, 2024 Highlight

Harris unveils New Way Forward, lashes Trump over abortion

Adam Creighton

Kamala Harris has unveiled her New Way Forward, which she says will foster an “opportunity economy”, contrasting her plans with those of Donald Trump.

“We will end America’s housing shortage, and protect Social Security and Medicare,” she said.

“Instead of a tax hike we will pas a middle class tax cut that will benefit 100 million Americans.”

She slammed Donald Trump for his pride in picking Supreme Court judges who ultimately overturned Roe v Wade, which had provided women across the US the right to abortions since the 1970s.

Legislating for a national abortion right has become the central campaign promise of the Harris-Walz campaign.

“I will proudly sign it into law,” she says, arguing Trump would legislate a national abortion ban,

Trump has repeatedly said he would prefer to leave the matter to individual states.

“We trust women,” Harris said,

12:56 pm August 23, 2024 Highlight

'Trust me to put country above party'

Adam Creighton

Kamala Harris speaks on stage. Picture: Getty Images via AFP.

Kamala Harris has promised to be a president for all Americans, as she accepted the Democratic nomination.

"You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred America’s fundamental principles to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power,” she said, a implied slight at Donald Trump for his role in the January 6th Capitol Hill riots in 2021.

“From the poor house to the courthouse that’s been my life’s work,” she said, promising to be “realistic and practical”.

“As Attorney-General of California I took on the big banks, and helped past a homeowner bill of rights, one of the first of its kind in the nation,” she said, hinting at one of the emerging policies of Democrats, to provide US$25,000 for first home buyers.

Turning to Trump explicitly after speaking for around 20 minutes, Harris declared her opponent “an unserious man”.

“This is not only the most important of our lives, it is one of the most important in the life of our nation,” she said.

“Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again, his explicit intent to set free those who assaulted officers, to jail journalists, his explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens, consider the power he will have especially after the United State supreme court ruled he’d be immune from criminal prosecution

“Just imagine Donald Trump with no guard rails," she added.

“We know what a second Trump term would look like, it’s all laid out in Project 2025,” she said, referring to a policy document produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation that Trump has tried to disassociate himself from.

“America we are not going back," she said, in what's become one of the central campaign slogans of the Harris-Walz campaign.

12:50 pm August 23, 2024 Highlight

'On behalf of all Americans, I accept the nomination'

Adam Creighton

Kamala Harris speaks to Democrats in Chicago. Picture: Getty Images via AFP.

Recounting a story of how she helped her high school friend Wanda escape from sexual abuse, Kamala Harris explained why she became a prosecutor, ultimately rising to San Francisco district attorney and later California attorney general, and ultimately wants to be president.

“Everyone has a right to safety and to dignity and to justice… A harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us,” she s

“Every day I stood in the courtroom, and I said five words: 'Kamala Harris, for the people', and to be clear for my entire career I’ve only had one client, the people, and so on behalf of the people… on behalf of my mother, and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, on behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone who story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination for president of the United States of America,” she declared.

12:45 pm August 23, 2024 Highlight

'Don't complain, do something'

Adam Creighton

Kamala Harris’s mother, who died in 2009 from cancer, has featured extensively in the speeches of Harris and her family and friends, but not her father economics professor Donald Harris, who didn’t appear to be at the convention.

As she began her historic speech at the Democratic Convention, Harris recalled: “From my earliest years he taught me to be fearless but the harmony between my parents didn’t last, when I was in elementary school they split, and was raised largely by my mother,” before talking extensively about her mother, “a brilliant five foot tall woman with an accent”.

“She taught us never to do anything half arsed," she added, referring to her scientist mother he moved to America from India.

She added that her mother had always taught her: "Don't complain, do something".

12:38 pm August 23, 2024 Highlight

Harris kicks off speech with thanks to Biden

Adam Creighton

Kamala Harris has praised her family and president Joe Biden as she kicks off her historic speech in Chicago, before talking about her mother's influence on her career and values.

After a campaign video extolling her career and virtues, the vice president strode onto the stage a little after 9.30pm local time in Chicago (12.30pm AEST) before around 20,000 cheering fans who were waiving Kamala signs and chanting “USA, USA”.

“OK, OK we gotta get to some business, thank you thank you,” a beaming Harris exclaimed, beginning her speech by thanking her husband Doug Emhoff in the audience and noting that it was their wedding anniversary today.

“To our president Joe Biden, when I think about the path that we have travelled together Joe I am filled with gratitude, your record is extraordinary as history will show, and your character is inspiring,” she said.

12:21 pm August 23, 2024

CNN blacks out during Whitmer address

Adam Creighton

Oh to have been a fly on the wall in CNN’s control room on Thursday night (Friday AEST). For a full three minutes CNN viewers were treated to a black screen, except for a corporate chyron at the bottom.

During a speech by Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer CNN’s feed was somehow cut, prompting a barrage of jokes and criticism on social media.

@CNN did you pay the bills? #Blackscreen #DNC pic.twitter.com/WlRFaLv5FF

— Daniel Melgoza (@DanMelgoza) August 23, 2024

CNN, which had invested huge sums in its coverage of the DNC, may have lost many thousands of viewers to rival networks, all of which have forked out for private broadcasting booths from the United Centre, during the blackout.

How much $$$ did @CNN lose with this signal loss? For about 2 mins?? pic.twitter.com/Q858vywgC8

— Matthew Davis (@MattTennisHack) August 23, 2024

12:19 pm August 23, 2024 Highlight

Harris a 'total bada**': Whitmer

Anne Barrowclough

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Picture: AFP,

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer got a standing ovation when she took the stage.

Ms Whitmer, who had been a contender for the Democratic nomination, said that like her, Kamala Harris was a "G.S.D." – a person who gets stuff done.

"Donald Trump called me 'that woman from Michigan' as an insult. But being a woman from Michigan is a badge of honour," she said. "Like women across America, we just G.S.D. — Get Stuff Done."

Ms Whitmer said she and Harris had similar lives, unlike Trump.

"You think he understands that when your car breaks down you can’t get to work? No! His first word was probably 'chauffeur,'" she said.

She acknowledged the last couple of years had been hard, especially with the pandemic, but said Harris would be able to battle any crisis.

"Why wouldn’t we choose the leader who’s tough, tested and a total bada–?" she said.