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Less than five weeks ago, she was the running mate, second tier on the Democratic presidential ticket.
But on Thursday night, United States Vice President Kamala Harris took centre stage at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to formally accept the party’s nomination for the presidency.
“We were underestimated at practically every turn. But we never gave up. Because the future is always worth fighting for. And that’s the fight we are in right now: a fight for America’s future,” said Harris.
As the party nominee, Harris was the keynote speaker on the final night of the four-day convention, held in Chicago, Illinois.
She dedicated her speech to campaign themes like strengthening the middle class and building an “opportunity economy”. She called on voters to help her write “the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told”.
It was the highest profile moment yet for Harris’s meteoric campaign. In late July, incumbent Democrat Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race amid pressure about his age and capacity to lead, clearing the way for Harris to take his spot.
She has since energised the Democratic base, with polls showing Harris pushing ahead of Republican candidate Donald Trump in key swing states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
But her victory lap at the Democratic National Convention has been, at times, overshadowed by protests denouncing US support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
Harris waded into the issue briefly during her remarks, reiterating her predecessor’s steadfast support for Israel while envisioning a future where Palestinians had the “right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination”.
Here are five takeaways from the final day of the convention.
Pro-Palestinian protests rage on
Protests have been a constant outside the Democratic National Convention this week, as advocates hope to raise awareness for the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.
More than 40,200 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel’s war in the enclave, and some human rights experts have raised the alarm over the possibility of genocide and famine.
But frustration reached a peak on Thursday, as organisers made a last, unsuccessful push to ensure a Palestinian American voice could be featured on the convention stage.
The night before, the Democratic National Committee had rejected an appeal to include a Palestinian American speaker in its final lineup on Thursday.
In a bid to change the convention organisers’ minds, members of the Uncommitted National Movement held a sit-in outside the United Center, where the speeches were taking place.
“This Palestinian speaker situation is a mistake on the party’s end,” Abbas Alawieh, the co-founder of the movement, told Al Jazeera reporter Ali Harb as he sat cross-legged on the concrete in the afternoon heat.
The decision also had immediate ramifications for Harris’s base of support. The group Muslim Women for Harris announced overnight that it would dissolve as a result.
Democrats invoke the ‘American dream’
When the primetime lineup of speakers finally began on Thursday, their remarks echoed a familiar trope in US politics: the “American dream”.
“This November, who’s ready to defend the dream?” asked Alex Padilla, a senator from California, as he amped up the crowd early in the night.
That idea behind the American dream — that US citizens should be able to aspire to freedom and opportunity, no matter their background — was repeated often in on-stage appeals for affordable childcare, healthcare and housing.
It was on that last point that Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren took shots at Trump, a real estate tycoon who has faced accusations of racial discrimination at his housing developments.
In 1973, for instance, Trump and his father Fred Trump faced a federal lawsuit that alleged they denied rentals to Black residents in New York. That suit was ultimately settled.
Comedian DL Hughley referenced that incident as he delivered jokes from the convention stage.
“If [Trump] keeps sliding in the polls the way he is, the only way he can keep Kamala out of the White House is if he buys it and refuses to rent it to her,” Hughley quipped.
He then shifted to a more serious note.
“Kamala knows the truth about the American dream: that hard work alone is not enough to succeed, that you need access and information and opportunity,” Hughley explained. “And she knows that some folks are often denied those very things.”
Central Park Five put criminal justice in spotlight
The last night of the convention was studded with celebrity appearances, including remarks from actors Kerry Washington and Eva Longoria, as well as performances by musical acts like Pink and The Chicks.
But one of the biggest surprises was not an A-list actor or pop star. It was the arrival on stage of a group of Black and Latino men collectively known as the Central Park Five.
In 1989, a 28-year-old woman was raped and beaten in New York City’s Central Park, and the police quickly singled out five teenagers, all between the ages of 14 and 16 years old. Their names were Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise.
All but McCray were present on the Democratic National Committee stage on Thursday. There, they recounted how they were falsely accused and imprisoned — for up to 13 years. They have since been exonerated thanks to DNA evidence.
They pointed to Trump’s role in the public pressure surrounding their incarceration. Amid their trial, Trump ran full-page newspaper ads that read: “Bring back the death penalty.”
“That man thinks that hate is the animating force in America,” Salaam, now a New York City council member, said.
“It is not. We have the constitutional right to vote. In fact, it is a human right, so let us use it. I want you to walk with us. I want you to march with us. I want you to vote with us.”
Prosecutors who worked with Harris later came out on stage to tout her record in the criminal justice system, including her defence of sex-trafficking survivors.
Ukraine, China, Gaza receive foreign policy nods
One of the major themes that emerged on Thursday was American leadership on the world stage — and a rejection of the “America First” foreign policy championed by Trump.
“The choice in November is stark: America retreating from the world or leading the world,” Representative Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said.
“Trump wants to take us backwards. He admires dictators. He treats our friends as adversaries, and our adversaries as friends. But our vision is based on our values.”
Various politicians took the stage to talk up the US’s role in diplomacy and peacekeeping. They referenced Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the threats represented by China and Iran as reasons for strong alliances overseas.
“Today, [Russian President] Vladimir Putin is testing whether we’re still that strong. Iran, North Korea and especially China watch closely,” Senator Mark Kelly told the convention.
He drew a contrast with Trump’s embrace of a more isolationist foreign policy and the Republican reticence to sending further aid to Ukraine.
“What’s Trump’s answer? He invited Russia to do — and these are his words, not mine — whatever the hell they want. Vice President Harris has always championed American support for NATO, for Ukraine and for the Ukrainian people,” Kelly said.
One conflict, however, was left unmentioned during much of the hours-long speaking lineup: Israel’s war in Gaza.
Support for the war has become a divisive issue among Democrats. While progressives and human rights advocates have pushed for a ceasefire, party centrists like President Biden have maintained “unwavering” support for Israel, a key US ally in the Middle East.
But Harris herself addressed the conflict, trying to strike a balance in her remarks.
“Let me be clear. 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 that a terrorist organisation called Hamas caused on October 7,” she said.
“At the same time, what has happened In Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating,” she continued.
“The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realise their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”
Kamala Harris closes the night
To the sounds of Beyonce’s hit song “Freedom”, Harris took the stage to close the convention at the end of the night. She began with a tribute to the outgoing president, Biden.
“When I think about the path 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.
She then pivoted to her own family’s story, sharing how her Indian mother and her Jamaican father met in the US and raised them with the values she upholds to this day.
“My mother was a brilliant, five-foot-tall Brown woman with an accent,” Harris said. “I saw how the world would sometimes treat her. But my mother never lost her cool. She was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for women’s health.”
“She taught us to never complain about injustice but do something about it.”
When one of her childhood friends revealed she had been sexually abused, Harris said she became inspired to pursue law as a career. That, she added, eventually brought her to politics.
“Our nation, with this election, has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past — a chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans,” she said.
Harris pledged to be a unifying leader, regardless of party or affiliation. But some of her most pointed remarks were reserved for Trump, who has attacked her racial identity, looks and intelligence on the campaign trail.
“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious,” she said, assailing him on issues like voting rights and abortion access.
“Consider the power he will have, especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution,” she said, referencing a recent decision to give “presumptive immunity” to all official presidential acts.
“Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States — not to improve your life.”
She warned that Trump would limit access to birth control and medication abortion if re-elected, as well as weaken the US’s standing on the global stage.
“Simply put: They are out of their minds,” she said of the Republican ticket.
