Highlights From Kamala Harris' Speech At The Democratic National Convention

Business Insider

Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for president, outlining goals for the Harris-Walz ticket and warning about a repeat Trump presidency. Here are the key takeaways from the final night of the DNC.

Transcript

00:00Please welcome the Democratic nominee for president,

00:03Vice President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris.

00:14Thank you all. Okay, we gotta get to some business. We gotta get to some business.

00:20Let me start by thanking my most incredible husband, Doug.

00:25And happy anniversary, Dougie. I love you so very much.

00:36To our president, Joe Biden. Joe, I am filled with gratitude.

00:42Your record is extraordinary, as history will show, and your character is inspiring.

00:49And Doug and I love you and Jill and are forever thankful to you both.

00:55My mother was a brilliant, five foot tall, brown woman with an accent.

01:01As the eldest child, I saw how the world would sometimes treat her.

01:07But my mother never lost her cool. She was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight

01:15for women's health. She taught us to never complain about injustice, but do something about it.

01:24Do something about it. She also taught us, and never do anything half-assed.

01:32And that is a direct quote.

01:38In our system of justice, a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us.

01:46And to be clear, my entire career, I've only had one client, the people.

01:57And so, on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race,

02:07gender, or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of everyone whose story

02:15could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination to be President

02:26of the United States of America.

02:29I accept your nomination to be President of the United States of America.

02:38Our nation, with this election, has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness,

02:49cynicism, and divisive battles of the past, a chance to chart a new way forward.

03:00Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.

03:08And let me say, I know there are people of various political views watching tonight,

03:14and I want you to know, I promise to be a president for all Americans.

03:21You can always trust me to put country above party and self.

03:27Well, in many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man.

03:35But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.

03:43Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity

03:52of what has happened since he lost the last election.

03:58Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes.

04:02When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol where they assaulted

04:10law enforcement officers.

04:12When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did

04:23the opposite.

04:24He fanned the flames.

04:28And now, for an entirely different set of crimes, he was found guilty of fraud by a

04:35jury of everyday Americans and separately found liable for committing sexual abuse.

04:43Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again.

04:49Consider his explicit intent to set free violent extremists who assaulted those law

04:59enforcement officers at the Capitol.

05:01His explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents, and anyone he sees as the enemy.

05:11His explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens.

05:20Consider the power he will have, especially after the United States Supreme Court just

05:30ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution.

05:34Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails and how he would use the immense powers of

05:48the presidency of the United States, not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national

05:58security, but to serve the only client he has ever had, himself.

06:12But America, we are not going back.

06:16We are not going back.

06:18We are not going back.

06:23And we are charting a new way forward.

06:31Forward to a future with a strong and growing middle class because we know a strong middle

06:39class has always been critical to America's success and building that middle class will

06:46be a defining goal of my presidency.

06:52And I will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families and

07:02I will always honor and never disparage their service and their sacrifice.

07:12Trump, on the other hand, threatened to abandon NATO.

07:18He encouraged Putin to invade our allies, said Russia could, quote, do whatever the

07:26hell they want.

07:29Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, I met with President Zelensky to warn him

07:36about Russia's plan to invade.

07:38I helped mobilize a global response, over 50 countries, to defend against Putin's aggression.

07:45And as president, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies.

07:58With respect to the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock because

08:06now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done.

08:13And let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself and I

08:22will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself because the people of Israel

08:30must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7.

08:39At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating.

08:48So many innocent lives lost.

08:53Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again.

08:59The scale of suffering is heartbreaking.

09:03President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages

09:11are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their

09:17right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.

09:24I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-un who are rooting for Trump.

09:41They know Trump won't hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself.

09:48Everywhere I go and everyone I meet, I see a nation that is ready to move forward.

09:59You know, our opponents in this race are out there every day denigrating America,

10:06talking about how terrible everything is.

10:10Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach.

10:15Never let anyone tell you who you are.

10:19You show them who you are.

10:27America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for.

10:40Freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness, and endless possibilities.

10:55It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done.

11:03To fight for the ideals we cherish and to uphold the awesome responsibility

11:14that comes with the greatest privilege on earth.

11:21The privilege and pride of being an American.

11:25Let's get out there, let's vote for it, and together, let us write the next great chapter

11:34in the most extraordinary story ever told.

11:41God bless you and may God bless the United States of America.

11:47Thank you all.

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