It was a formality, but her staging had to be perfect. After four days of euphoric convention in Chicago, Kamala Harris officially accepted the Democratic nomination for the presidential election. Arriving on stage at 9:30 p.m. (local time) in front of a transcended crowd, the vice president first highlighted the strange context that led her to replace Joe Biden a month ago. “The path that led me here these last few weeks was undoubtedly unexpected. But I am no stranger to improbable journeys,” she began.
In her inaugural address, probably the most important of her career so far, Kamala Harris addressed all Americans at length. “On behalf of the people, on behalf of all Americans, regardless of party, race, gender,” on behalf of those “who work hard, pursue their dreams, and look out for one another, on behalf of all those whose history can only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination to become president of the United States,” the candidate declared.
Because if the Democratic convention is meant to electrify the hearts of the electorate, the inaugural address is a unique opportunity to be heard beyond that base. Last July, more than 25 million people watched Donald Trump’s speech at the Republican convention. Kamala Harris praised the “people of different political points of view who are watching us tonight,” before calling for moving beyond the “divisive battles of the past,” their “cynicism” and their “bitterness.”
The charge against Trump, “an unserious man”
But this call for unity is not synonymous with weakness. Raising her voice, in a serious and solemn tone, the former prosecutor attacked her Republican opponent several times. “Look at what he intends to do if we give him power again,” she said. “Look at his explicit intention to release the violent extremists who attacked law enforcement at the Capitol. His explicit intention to imprison journalists, political opponents and anyone he considers an enemy. His explicit intention to deploy our active-duty military against our own citizens.” Before summarizing a new term for the Republican thus: “Imagine. Donald Trump without guardrails.”
Kamala Harris notably mentioned the “2025 Project”, this ultraconservative program prepared by close associates of the billionaire, which would greatly strengthen the powers of the American president and place many federal officials under his personal control. “In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man,” declared the candidate in a dark suit. “But the consequences of a Donald Trump return to the White House are extremely serious” and would take “our country back years”.
More a profession of faith aimed at establishing her presidential stature than a programmatic speech, Kamala Harris promised to be “a president who leads and listens”, and “unites us around our highest aspirations”. The Democratic priorities stated in recent weeks were nevertheless cited: restoration of the right to abortion, support for the middle class, in line with Joe Biden’s record, an economy “that allows everyone to succeed” and reform of the immigration system, “failing” according to the one who was charged by President Biden with managing the causes.
His vision of foreign policy
Kamala Harris also discussed her foreign policy. The potential commander-in-chief promised that she would continue to fully support Ukraine and that “unlike Donald Trump,” she would not “make friends with dictators.” On the Israeli offensive in Gaza, a very divisive issue within the Democratic Party, she assured that she would ensure that Israel would never again experience “the horror caused by the terrorist organization Hamas on October 7,” but affirmed that “what has been happening in Gaza for the last ten months is appalling.”
For Kamala Harris, the goal of this Democratic convention was also to reveal who she is to American voters, who still know little about her, despite her notoriety as number 2 in the executive branch. After the humorous speech given by her husband, lawyer Doug Emhoff, on Tuesday, August 21, it was Kamala Harris’ sister who spoke a little before her.
Tribute to his mother
During her inaugural speech, the Oakland, California native paid a warm tribute to her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, an Indian oncologist who moved to the United States at the age of 19 and died in 2009. “I saw how the world treated her sometimes. But my mother never lost her calm. She was strong, courageous,” said the candidate, who also said she learned from her “never to complain about injustice, but to act against it.”
The daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, Kamala Harris did not emphasize the historic nature of her candidacy. If elected on November 5, she would be the first woman and the first black woman to occupy the Oval Office. It was not she but the crowd who was dressed in white, the color associated with women’s political struggles.
On the contrary, Kamala Harris preferred to highlight her middle-class childhood, which is more unifying to voters. Raised in a “beautiful working-class neighborhood of firefighters, nurses and construction workers,” the Democratic candidate also spoke of her vocation as a prosecutor, which emerged in high school when one of her friends confided in her that she had been sexually assaulted by her stepfather. “Every day, in court, I stood proudly in front of the judge and said five words: Kamala Harris, for the people,” she hammered home, in reference to the protocol phrase of prosecutors. Now that the convention is over, she still has 74 days to make this formula a reality.