Kamala Harris, US Vice President formally accepted the Democratic nomination for President on Thursday, August 22, 2024, with a rousing call to end the war in Gaza and to fight tyranny around the world.

“In the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs,” Harris said, accusing Trump of bowing down to dictators.

On the final and most anticipated night of the four-day Chicago convention, Harris, 59, promised to chart a “New Way Forward” as she and Trump, 78, enter the final 11 weeks of the razor-close campaign.

Harris emerged as the Democratic candidate over a month ago when friends and political associates of President Joe Biden, 81, impressed on him to pull out from the race.

The speech laid out some broad policy principles, foreign and domestic, but left unsaid specific details which, in weeks to come, she could be pressured to provide.

After days of protests from Palestinian supporters who were disappointed at not getting a speaking spot at the convention, Harris delivered a pledge to secure Israel, bring the hostages home from Gaza, and end the war in the Palestinian enclave.

“Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done,” she said to cheers. “And let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel can defend itself.”

“What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives are lost, desperate hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking,” she said.

“President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.”

In some of her strongest foreign policy statements to date, Harris said she would take whatever action was necessary to defend U.S. interests against Iran and would not cozy up to tyrants and dictators.

She said such leaders, including North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, “are rooting for Trump.”
She vowed to stand with Ukraine in its war against Russia and with NATO allies.

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