(Chicago) “I promise to be the president of all Americans,” Kamala Harris will say, as she solemnly accepts the Democratic Party’s nomination in Chicago on Thursday.
The November presidential election is an opportunity to “chart a new path,” the candidate will assure, addressing all the “people with different political points of view who are watching us tonight,” according to excerpts from the most important speech of her life, broadcast in advance.
“I want you to know: I promise to be the president of all Americans,” she will declare.
She will arrive before thousands of euphoric delegates, whose excitement has only grown since their convention began on Monday.
The room, where an enthusiastic host played a series of popular songs, often took on the appearance of a huge, joyful nightclub on Thursday.
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PHOTO KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Kamala Harris at the Democratic convention in Chicago on August 19, 2024.
White
Many representatives from all states wore white.
This color, associated with the great political struggles of women, reflects their hope of seeing the 59-year-old vice president become the first female president of the United States, by defeating Republican candidate Donald Trump on November 5.
The former president “is not a serious man. But the consequences of a return of Donald Trump to the White House would be extremely serious,” Kamala Harris will attack, according to these extracts of speech.
“We look forward to her accepting this historic nomination,” President Joe Biden said, posting a photo of himself and his wife, on vacation in California, watching the ceremony on television. The presidential couple called the Democratic candidate on Thursday to wish her luck, according to a spokeswoman.
The Democratic convention brought together more than 20 million viewers every evening, attracted by the Obamas’ hard-hitting speeches, for example, or by a musical program that was as scintillating as it was political.
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PHOTO MANDEL NGAN, ARCHIVES AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Barack Obama at the Democratic convention in Chicago, August 20, 2024.
On Thursday, the wildly popular country music trio The Chicks performed the U.S. national anthem, 20 years after they were repudiated by conservatives for their opposition to the Iraq war.
Kamala Harris will take advantage of this audience to introduce herself to a country that does not necessarily know her very well, after almost four years in the thankless position of vice president.
Beyonce
Celebrity news site TMZ said it had “multiple sources” that Beyoncé would be the evening’s big surprise guest.
The huge star, who has touched on all musical genres, has already given the campaign its anthem, with his song “Freedom”.
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PHOTO KEVIN WINTER ARCHIVES GETTY IMAGES BY AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Singer Beyoncé
The Democratic candidate, born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, will also discuss her childhood in a middle-class family and her commitments as a former California prosecutor.
She will oppose her Republican rival, focused on the “decline” of the country, with a resolutely optimistic vision of the American destiny, according to her campaign team.
Polls show Kamala Harris with a slight lead over Donald Trump in national voting intentions.
“Tight” ballot
This is in no way a guarantee of victory, 74 days before an election that will certainly be decided, as in 2016 and 2020, in a handful of key states.
So much can happen between now and then. In four mind-boggling weeks, America has seen its current president, Joe Biden, abandon his candidacy, and its former president, Donald Trump, fall victim to an assassination attempt.
On Friday, things could move again. According to American media, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will throw in the towel and support the Republican billionaire.
“We are not the favorites […]”That’s how we see it,” Dan Kanninen, a senior campaign manager for Kamala Harris, said at a Bloomberg event.
Immigration
In this battle, the Democrat wants to challenge the Republican Party’s defense of a central value of its rhetoric: freedom.
“When Republicans talk about freedom, they’re talking about the freedom for the government to invade your doctor’s office,” his running mate, Tim Walz, attacked Wednesday, referring to abortion rights, which have been eliminated or severely restricted by many conservative states.
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PHOTO CHARLES REX ARBOGAST, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Tim Walz at the Democratic convention in Chicago on August 21, 2024.
Donald Trump repeated on Thursday that his rival wanted to push America into “communism.”
While traveling in Arizona, a state bordering Mexico, he also accused her of wanting to “open the borders” to illegal immigration, one of her recurring angles of attack.