Kamala Harris speaks at the 2024 Democratic National ConventionBrandon Bell/Getty
Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic party’s nomination for president on Thursday night in Chicago. It was a historic moment for the country and for Harris, who is now the first Black woman and first Asian-American to earn a major party nomination for president. In the most important speech of her political life, Harris didn’t linger in the applause—which lasted several minutes. “Let’s get to business!” she said, turning to her speech.
In only a month after President Joe Biden stepped down and named her as his heir apparent, Harris now leads a campaign that’s been awash in energy—and cash. On the first night of the convention, Biden spoke, signaling a generational shift in Democratic party leadership. Over each passing day, while party luminaries gave Biden his political roses, it was clear that one generation was passing the torch to the next. That sentiment was also captured in a recurring chant throughout the week: “We won’t go back!”
“I believe everyone has a right to safety, dignity, and justice,” Harris said in her speech, noting that in her legal and political career, she has only had one client: The people.
Yes, there’s been a momentous vibe shift, but there’s a shift in policies, too. Democrats have effectively reframed the conversation about “freedom” that was once the mantra for the GOP. It’s no longer just about the freedom to carry guns, as Trump’s MAGA movement has talked about in recent years, or the “freedom” to take books out of libraries. Now, as my colleague Pema Levy noted, Democrats are operating from “the idea that freedom is found in the preconditions of opportunity.” People should be free to decide when and how to start families, access reproductive and gender-affirming health care, and find a decent job that pays a living wage. Throughout the week “normal people” touched by these issues spoke to the convention crowd and to millions across the country.
At the center of it all was Harris, not a newcomer to the national stage but still relatively unknown to most Americans. As a politician, since her first campaigns for District Attorney in San Francisco, Harris has been notoriously discreet about her private life. But this week we learned more about her personal and professional history than ever before. We learned from her beloved little sister about the brutal sexual assault and human trafficking cases that she prosecuted early on in her career. We learned from her husband, step-children, and brother-in-law about her blended family. We learned from her nieces, Amara and Leela, how to properly announce their auntie’s name: “comma-la!,” they led the crowd in chanting.
This wasn’t her first time in the spotlight at the DNC. In 2012, she earned a prime speaking spot as Attorney General of California. Back then she called the race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney “a choice between an America where opportunity is open to everyone” and “a philosophy that tilts the playing field to help the wealthiest few.” That comparison now seems almost quaint in retrospect with Donald Trump vying for a second term in office, who Harris called “a deeply unserious man.”
“The consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious,” she said. But Harris is undaunted by the challenge. “From the courthouse to the White House,” she said, fighting for the people “has been my life’s work.”
