Kamala Harris has accepted the nomination for president in front of an ecstatic crowd at the Democratic National Convention.
The 40-minute speech told her personal story to a television audience still largely unfamiliar with the vice president after her sudden elevation to the top of the ticket last month.
Harris began her speech talking about her upbringing, with particular focus on her late mother.
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“My mother was a brilliant five-foot-tall brown woman with an accent,” Harris said.
“I saw how the world would sometimes treat her. But my mother never lost her cool. She was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for women’s health.”
“She also taught us, and never do anything half-assed. And that is a direct quote.”
Early on she spoke about the moment she decided to be a prosecutor, telling the story of her high school friend suffering abuse at the hands of her stepfather.
“This is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor – to protect people like Wanda, because I believe everyone has a right to safety, to dignity, and to justice.”
But she also made a strong play for the middle of the electorate, in a speech highlighting her credentials on crime, the economy, Gaza and border security.
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Recognising the issues as perceived weak points for the Democrats, she took aim at Donald Trump’s policies on the issues.
“Last year, Joe (Biden) and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades.
“But Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign.
“So he ordered his allies in congress to kill the deal.”
She called for a ceasefire in Gaza while also reiterating Israel’s right to defend itself.
Harris spoke at length about the most divisive issue in US politics, abortion rights.
She said Trump and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion and enact a nationwide abortion ban.
“Simply put – they are out of their minds,” she said.
“One must ask – why, exactly, is it that they don’t trust women?”
The raucous crowd chanted “Not going back” as Harris spoke.
“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man,” she said.
“But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”
As Harris spoke, Trump heckled her via his social media account.
When she took to the podium in front of a cheering crowd, Trump wrote that she said “thank you” too many times.
“A lot of talk about childhood, we’ve got to get to the Border, Inflation, and Crime!” he wrote, less than ten minutes into her speech.
“There will be no future under Comrade Kamala Harris, because she will take us into a Nuclear World War III! She will never be respected by the Tyrants of the World!”
Harris’ speech wraps up a convention which was joyful, almost euphoric in tone.
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Since Joe Biden dropped out and Harris stepped up, polls have shown a Democratic surge.
Harris now leads Trump narrowly in most swing states.
Americans will go to the polls to vote on November 5.
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