CHICAGO — Vice President Kamala Harris will acknowledge her quick promotion to the top of the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket, retelling her origin story to contrast herself with former President Donald Trump on policy and personality during her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
“America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected,” Harris will say Thursday in the United Center, according to excerpts of her prepared remarks, obtained by the Washington Examiner. “But I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys.”
On policy, Harris will criticize Trump as “extreme,” connecting him to conservative think tank Heritage Foundation‘s Project 2025 proposals and calling him “an unserious man” who has “serious” consequences. Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025.
“With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past,” Harris will say. “A chance to chart a New Way Forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.”
“I know there are people of various political views watching tonight,” she will add. “I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans. … I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations. A president who leads — and listens. Who is realistic. Practical. And has common sense. And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my life’s work.”
A former San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, and U.S. senator, Harris is anticipated to speak about two influentual people in her life: her mother Shyamala, an Indian immigrant and breast cancer researcher, who died in 2009 and her high school friend Wanda.
“When I was in high school, I started to notice something about my best friend Wanda,” Harris will say. “She was sad at school. And there were times she didn’t want to go home.”
“So, one day, I asked if everything was alright,” she will continue. “She confided in me that she was being sexually abused by her step-father. And I immediately told her she had to come stay with us. And she did. That is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor. To protect people like Wanda.”
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Harris will also try to underscore her compassion in another context: how people perceive the economy and their own personal financial circumstances.
“We know a strong middle class has always been critical to America’s success,” she will say. “And building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. This is personal for me. The middle class is where I come from.”
