Kamala Harris looks to Democratic convention for final push in battle against Trump

The Democratic National Convention (DNC) that begins Monday in Chicago will be a very different event from the one that was being planned exactly a month ago. Instead of the hushed meeting that was to quietly certify President Joe Biden’s candidacy for re-election, the party that has turned its electoral prospects on its head is now getting read for a jubilant party. More than 50,000 supporters, delegates, politicians, advisers, journalists and celebrities are gathering in the Windy City for Vice President Kamala Harris’ nomination on Thursday as the official Democratic candidate and the party’s great hope to win the November 5 elections. Although the pro-Palestinian protests set to take place outside the venue may cast a shadow over the celebrations.

“We’re standing on the precipice of something truly historic — electing the first woman president of the United States and showing the world what is possible when we come together as a country,” Minyon Moore, the DNC chair, wrote in an enthusiastic op-ed. Her statement summed up the enthusiasm of a party that, until Biden decided to withdraw from the race on July 21, had practically given up all hope of winning the election. Now, with Harris as candidate, it is regaining much of the ground it lost to Republican Donald Trump, less than 80 days before the election.

The DNC is a four-day political spectacle in which political celebrities — Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Joe Biden — will rub shoulders with Hollywood A-listers, from actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, star of the series Veep, to singer John Legend. Everything is ready, to a certain extent. The change in the Democratic ticket was so abrupt that it caught the DNC planners off guard. The party program still lists Biden as the candidate; and the official page with the downloadable digital logos also has an image of the president.

The United Center in Chicago is hosting the DNC, but for the first time, speeches will also be broadcast live on Instagram or TikTok to attract a young audience. The Democratic Party is hoping the event will continue the momentum Harris and the party have enjoyed in the last four weeks and consolidate it in the final stretch of the campaign. “At the convention, Democrats will come together to build on our progress, lay out what’s at stake in this election, and unite around our shared values of democracy and freedom to create a future for all Americans,” states the DNC website.

Part of the DNC’s goal is to reintroduce Harris to voters: the vice president still largely unknown to most of the public, despite her years in the White House under Biden. The candidate, who on Friday presented an economic program with popular measures for families, is on a mission to present herself to voters and convince them to vote for her in November. On Sunday, she toured Pennsylvania — a key state in her strategy to win the White House — and on Tuesday she will briefly leave Chicago for another campaign event in Wisconsin, another swing state. Meanwhile, other speakers will try to portray her as the candidate for the future, and the Republican rival, Donald Trump, as a symbol of the past.

As is tradition, the candidate will speak at the closing day of the convention on Thursday to large crowds and televised applause, before the event concludes amid a shower of confetti and blue, white and red balloons, the colors of the U.S. flag. In her speech, Harris will try to connect with the audience and explain what her priorities will be if she takes up residence in the Oval Office.

“It’s especially important, given that she’s a new candidate, that she has the opportunity to have a platform to speak directly to the American people,” said associate professor Andra Gillespie of Emory University in Atlanta in a talk last week.

The first day of the DNC will focus on President Biden and his legacy, before passing the political baton to Harris as the head of the Democratic Party and the presidential ticket. Biden will give the keynote address on Monday, which is being celebrated under the title “For the People.” It will also include speeches by the first lady, Jill Biden, and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. According to his advisers, in his appearance, Biden plans to explain the reasons why he believes that Harris should replace him to take on Trump, whom he had defined throughout his campaign as a threat to the democracy.

Biden will also take the opportunity to show off his achievements in the White House, from bringing down unemployment to historic lows to passing the largest infrastructure bill in decades. After that, he will hand it over to Harris and the vice president’s running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and will not participate in the rest of the convention events.

On Tuesday, the keynote speakers will be Obama and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff. On Wednesday, Bill Clinton, House Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi and Walz will take the stage. The list of speakers was not finalized until the last minute: after the party’s sudden rebound, there was more interest in participating in the DNC.

Image of unity

Traditionally, one of the key events of the DNC is when the delegates formally vote for the presidential nominee in a roll call vote. But that vote was already held virtually, and the vice president was certified as the nominee on August 7 to avoid bureaucratic problems in Ohio, where, under local laws, the deadline for registering for the ballot ended at the beginning of the month. Despite this, the Democratic National Committee said that a “ceremonial” vote of the 5,000 delegates and alternates will be held, so that Harris and Walz can enjoy the moment of glory.

But while the party is seeking to project an image of unity, there are some cracks within the group. Around 30 of the delegates represent the voters from several states who cast “uncommitted” ballots in the primary in protest at the Biden administration’s pro-Israeli position on the war in Gaza.

A coalition of up to 150 groups has organized anti-war protests during the DNC and is calling for an arms embargo on Israel. Organizers expect thousands of people to take part in the marches: Chicago is part of Cook County, which is home to the largest Palestinian community in the United States. “We’re in a unique position to pressure Dem’s ahead of the DNC to make saving Palestinian lives a top election priority,” the Uncommitted Movement said on social media. “To do this, we’re co-hosting actions across the country AND organizing Uncommitted Delegates inside the DNC.”

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