Kamala Harris takes centre stage at Democratic convention
Event an opportunity for vice-president to define herself to voters, set out policies
Dubai: When Kamala Harris is crowned by Democrats this week as their party candidate to take on Donald Trump in the US presidential polls, it will be a critical moment for the vice-president to show her credentials.
As the first Black and South Asian woman to head a major US party ticket, the 59-year-old Harris and her running mate Tim Walz will be the stars of the Democratic National Convention that began on Monday, where President Joe Biden will hand over the torch less than a month after his stunning withdrawal from the race.
Just a few weeks ago, the prospect of Harris leading Democrats into the four-day meeting would have seemed far-fetched, but the US political landscape has been completely upended since then.
Harris has wiped out Trump’s lead in the polls, drawn huge crowds in battleground states and raised record funds - while bringing what she calls a “joyful” message to the Democratic campaign.
Her televised speech on the final night of the convention on Thursday will now be a chance to define herself to voters and sell her story as America’s first Black woman vice-president. She will also finally be setting out her policies.
At the convention, Harris will be backed by three presidents - 81-year-old Biden plus former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton - along with former nominee Hillary Clinton.
With a little more than two months to go, the race for the White House has been tight, but Harris has seen a steady rise in her favourability ratings among Americans as a whole.
About 48 per cent of US adults have a very or somewhat favourable view of Harris, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research. That is up from 39 per cent at the beginning of the summer.
It’s better than the 38 per cent support that Biden had before he dropped out of the race, and the 41 per cent of adults who favour Trump.
There is heavy security in Chicago amid plans for mass protests against the Biden-Harris administration’s continued support for Israel’s devastating war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Trump will attempt to undercut the Democratic celebration with a packed schedule that includes daily events in battleground states tied to subjects where Republicans think they hold an advantage. It’s his busiest campaign week since the winter, when he faced challengers in the Republican primary.