‘Kamala Harris Casts Herself as the True American Patriot in Barnstorming Democratic Convention Speech’ 

Kamala Harris closed the Democratic National Convention on 22 August with a barnstorming speech to accept her party’s nomination as their candidate for President in the US elections in November.

In her remarks, aimed squarely at disaffected Republicans, independent voters and the undecided, she sought to cast herself, not Donald Trump, as the true American patriot, committed to defending American democracy, freedom, and values, and ready to lead from Day one.

She also set out what was at stake in this election, not just for America but the world. While Trump fawned on dictators like Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, she said, “In the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand, and I know where America belongs.” 

Her delivery ranged from human warmth to steely gravitas. At times, especially when talking about national security issues, Harris stood tall, looked straight into the camera, and spoke forcefully, drawing on her record as a tough prosecutor, and trying to convey strength as a future Commander-in-Chief.

When relaying her personal story, empathising with the struggles of ordinary Americans, or discussing sensitive topics such as abortion and gun safety, she slowed and lowered her voice, looked around the room, and used more body language to engage the audience.  

Harris sensibly avoided playing up her position as potentially the first female President in US history. Instead, she pitched herself as being the embodiment of the American dream, the daughter of immigrants, growing up in the middle class, and achieving success through hard work, and perseverance. 

She offered a vision of pragmatic, forward-looking government, for all Americans, not just those who voted for her, in contrast with the prospect of more chaos and division under Trump. “In many ways, Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting him back into the White House are extremely serious… Consider the power he will have, especially after the United States supreme court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution.” 

Harris even managed to thread the needle successfully on the highly contentious issue of Israel/Gaza– at least for the audience in the room, if not for the pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside the Convention, who remained angry that they had not been given a speaking slot at the Convention.

Stressing her and Joe Biden’s efforts to free the hostages and achieve a ceasefire, she stoutly affirmed her support for Israel’s right to self-defence, whilst also recognising the “heartbreaking” scale of suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, and their right to “dignity, security, freedom and self-determination”. It was good enough, for the moment, though concerns over the administration’s handling of the war will continue to hang over her campaign going forward.   

The tone of her speech was in keeping with that of the convention as a whole – in part joyous, and optimistic, in part deadly serious about the issues at stake.  

Where Biden’s campaign erred in building up Trump as a larger-than-life threat to American democracy, Harris and other speakers at the Convention sought to take him down with a series of jabs designed to get under his skin.

Harris described the Republicans as “out of their minds” on abortion. Her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, branded the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 Agenda, designed to influence any future Trump administration, as “weird, but also wrong and dangerous”. 

Former Republican Congressman, Adam Kinzinger, one of many former Republicans opposing Trump, described him as “a weak man pretending to be strong, a small man pretending to be big. He is fragile, vain and weak.”

In a pointed reference to Trump’s recent comment that immigrants were taking “black jobs” Michelle Obama jibed “who’s gonna tell him that that job he is seeking might turn out to be one of those black jobs”. Comedian DL  Hughley joked  – “Trump will finally find out what it’s like when you get left for a younger woman.”  

A running theme of the convention was how Harris was all about public service, “for the people” whereas Trump was all about himself. Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin lambasted the “cult of personality” around Trump. Former President Obama said: “Kamala won’t be focused on her problems, but on yours.” Former President Clinton said, when listening to Trump, “count the ‘Is’ not the lies”. Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, said of his wife that “empathy is her strength…she’s always been there for our children, and I know she’ll be there for yours too.”

Another compelling contrast between the Republican and Democrat Conventions was the very visible, genuine warmth and respect on display between the Biden, Harris, and Walz families, compared with the somewhat stiff, awkward embraces of the Trump family members.

Emhoff gave a full-throated, loving endorsement of his wife in his speech to the convention, using the tale of their successful blended family as a metaphor for American strength in diversity.

Walz’s son, Gus, burst into tears during his father’s speech.

Trump’s wife, Melania, has been conspicuous by her absence throughout his election campaign, and only deigned to show up, not speak, on the very last night of the Republican Convention. At the same occasion, Trump ignored an attempt by his youngest daughter, Tiffany, to embrace him.  

There were frequent references to Trump’s status as a convicted felon; his disparagement of wounded veterans as “suckers and losers”; his role in the January 6 insurrection attempt, and plans to pardon those found guilty of taking part.

There were emotional presentations by women unable to obtain abortions, even at the risk of their own lives; victims of gun violence; relatives of a police officer killed in the January 6 riot; and members of the “Central Park 5”, a group of black and Hispanic teens wrongly convicted for allegedly assaulting a jogger in Central Park, who assailed Trump for repeatedly calling for their execution.  

Perhaps the boldest aspect of the convention was its bid to steal the traditional Republican mantle of being the party most committed to the military, traditional values and freedom.

Pennysylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said: “We cherish our freedom and we love this country.” Tim Walz, leaning in on his record as a former member of the National Guard, a gun-owner and football coach, said: “We’re all here for one reason – we love this country. When Republicans use the word ‘freedom’ they mean that the government should be free to invade your doctor’s office, corporations free to pollute your air and water, and banks free to take advantage of customers. When we Democrats talk about freedom we mean …freedom to make your own health care decisions, your kids’ freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot….I know guns, I’m a veteran and a hunter. I believe in the second amendment, but our first responsibility is to keep our kids safe.”

Validation came from several former Republicans now backing Harris, who spoke at the convention.

The Republican mayor of Mesa, Arizona, John Giles said: “John McCain’s Republican party has gone and we don’t owe a damn thing to what is left behind. Let’s put country first”.

Former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger said: “The Democrats are just as patriotic as us. The Republican party is no longer conservative. We must put country first. Whatever we disagree on, on policy, pales into insignificance against principles. Democracy knows no party.”

Europeans are used to snap elections being called and political campaigns gearing up at very short notice. But for Americans, used to years-long election campaigns, beginning almost as soon as the last one is over, what Harris and her team have achieved in the past month since Biden announced his departure from the race, is little short of a miracle.

In just four short weeks, Harris has sealed the nomination, selected an impressive running mate, raised millions of dollars in donations, prompted thousands of volunteers to join her campaign and galvanised the race.

Often criticised for being a poor public speaker, she has now emerged out of the shadow of Biden, thrown off the burden of the Vice Presidency role, and become a convincing figurehead in her own right.  

For Trump, used to dominating the airwaves, convinced he had the election in the bag when Biden was his opponent, seeing the Harris/Walz team soar, draw all the attention, and garner massive crowds wherever they go, this must be immensely frustrating.

None of his usual tactics have worked. He has been unable to come up with a derisive nickname for Harris which sticks. Labelling her “Comrade Kamala”, and her platform as dangerously left, is just not convincing, given her deliberate pitch to centrist voters, and her choice of a gun-owning, small town, mid-western former football coach as her running mate.

Insulting her looks, personality, intelligence, or race just remind voters of Trump’s record of misogyny and racism. His decision to choose JD Vance as his running mate increasingly looks like a mistake, a decision to double down on his divisive message, which risks pushing away rather than attracting more voters to his side.  

Despite their undoubted momentum, the Harris/Walz campaign remains vulnerable on policy. Voters are unconvinced by the Biden administration’s record on the economy, and on foreign policy, including the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, handling of Israel/Gaza, and Iran.

Republican commentators have accused Harris of uttering platitudes, of offering unconvincing economic proposals, and of shying away from detailed policy prescriptions which voters can scrutinise.  

Many speakers at the convention cautioned against complacency.  

But Trump’s inability to articulate a coherent platform, or to stay on message, currently neutralise the one area where the Republicans ought to have an advantage.

And for this particular race, perhaps policy doesn’t matter so much. Speaking at the convention, TV star Oprah Winfrey summed it up best: “Character matters and values matter most in leadership and in life. Decency and respect are on the ballot in 2024 and plain common sense tells us that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz gives us decency and respect. Let us choose loyalty to the constitution over loyalty to one individual, because that’s the best of America. We’re not going back.” 

Walz, the everyman “Dad in Plaid” used a football metaphor to pep up the campaign: “It’s the fourth quarter, we’re down a field goal, but we’re on offense and we have the ball. We’re driving down the field and boy do we have the right team. Our job is to get in the trenches and do the blocking and tackling, one inch, one yard at a time.” 

If the race comes down to personality, Harris and Walz win it hands down. If it comes down to policy, it potentially remains a toss-up. But, I believe the race is now theirs to lose.