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Harris to make pitch to ‘all Americans’ in biggest speech of career
23-08-2024
CHICAGO: Kamala Harris will soon deliver the biggest speech of her life on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. You can watch live at the top of this page.
Harris will formally accept her party’s nomination for president and, according to excerpts of the speech, pledge to lead “for all Americans” as she delivers a message of unity.
Expectations are high of a big surprise performance, with rumours swirling that Beyoncé may appear.
Demonstrations have been taking place outside the convention in opposition to US support of Israel’s war in Gaza, with more protests expected.
A group of pro-Palestinian delegates who were denied the chance to speak at the convention have been staging a sit-in outside the arena.
Meanwhile, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is on the campaign trail in Arizona, he says he will be posting on his Truth Social platform throughout Harris’s speech.
The Democrats at their national convention this week have done their best to boost nominee Kamala Harris and insulate her against Republican attacks. But she still has some vulnerabilities that even the most successful convention cannot completely erase.
Many American voters are still unhappy with the current administration’s handling of inflation and the economy. And while price increases have subsided and growth is solid, unemployment has ticked up and the prospect of a downturn still lingers.
Immigration is another area of vulnerability for Democrats and Harris, who was in charge of addressing root causes of undocumented migration at the US-Mexico border early in the Biden presidency. Border crossings numbers have dipped significantly recently, but the lingering effects of the surge continue to weigh on social services in many American cities.
Republicans are also highlighting some of Harris’s past positions, particularly during her ill-fated bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. The then-senator tacked to the left during that campaign, endorsing positions on universal government-run healthcare, ban on oil shale fracking and policing reform that the Trump campaign have tried to characterize as too extreme.
The agenda at the convention has shifted to gun control.
We’ve just heard from several relatives of victims of gun violence, including Congresswoman Lucy McBath, whose son was killed in a shooting in 2012, and Kimberly Rubio, whose daughter was killed in the Uvalde shooting in Texas.
Former Representative Gabby Giffords who was shot in the head and survived during an assassination attempt takes the stage next. She tells the crowd that Harris can “beat the gun lobby” and fight gun trafficking.
Many Democrats have been advocating for years for more gun control measures, but have made little progress. And many Republican lawmakers in Congress have frequently pushed back on gun reforms.
The uncommitted delegates angry about Gaza policy who have been protesting outside have now entered the floor clearly visible with their black and white keffiyehs.
As they walked past the Nevada delegation, most people appeared to be ignoring them.
Quite a few people didn’t seem to notice them. They’ve now moved towards the centre of the room where I lost sight of them.
Vice-President Kamala Harris will give the most consequential speech of her political career tonight while also celebrating her 10th wedding anniversary. (Int’l News Desk)
