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Kamala Harris vowed to “strengthen, not abdicate” America’s global leadership on Thursday night, as she urged US voters to reject the “unserious” Donald Trump and elect her as the country’s president in November.
In a 40-minute primetime speech on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Harris wove her personal history with her political vision and offered her most detailed comments to date on US foreign policy.
Harris said that as president she would ensure “America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century” and promised to “stand strong with Ukraine and our Nato allies”.
She spoke at length about the conflict in Gaza, which has split Democrats and brought protesters on to the streets of Chicago throughout the party’s four-day convention this week. Harris said that while she would “always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself”, the scale of human suffering since the US ally had launched the war in Gaza was “heartbreaking”.
In comments that garnered roars of approval from the crowd, she added: “President [Joe] 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.”
Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic candidate in the presidential race last month, has come under mounting pressure in recent weeks to articulate her positions on domestic and foreign policy.
Thursday’s speech laid out her stance on conflicts in Europe and the Middle East and her vision for America’s role in the world. She also tore into Trump for “cosying up to tyrants and dictators like [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un”, whom Harris said were “rooting” for the Republican to win in November.
“I will never waver in defence of America’s security and ideals, because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs,” Harris said.
Her speech came at the end of a four-day convention in which Democrats sought to portray themselves as the party of “freedom” and patriotism. Throughout Harris’s remarks, attendees waved American flags and in several instances burst into spontaneous cheers of “U-S-A”.
The vice-president also used her speech to appeal for national unity and call on independent voters to embrace her candidacy.
“With this election, our nation 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,” Harris said.
“I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans, to hold sacred America’s fundamental principles, from the rule of law to free and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power,” she said, in a thinly veiled reference to Trump.
Harris pulled few punches, describing Trump as an “unserious man” but adding that “the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious”.
The 59-year-old vice-president’s speech at the convention capped an extraordinary few weeks in which she replaced Biden as the Democratic candidate and quickly jumped ahead of Trump in many polls in crucial swing states that will decide the election.
Money has also poured into Harris’s campaign in the four weeks since Biden dropped out, giving her firepower in what is expected to be the costliest White House race in history.
Despite the enthusiasm for her in Chicago, party leaders including former president Barack Obama warned Democrats this week that Harris still faced a “tight race” against Trump, whose Maga movement’s support has only hardened after the failed assassination attempt on him in July.
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