Kamala Harris delivered a speech at the closing of the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night that focused more on former President Donald Trump than on her record as vice president.
Harris accepted her party’s nomination without an official primary campaign. Top party leaders advocated for the vice president after President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign last month.
She opened her DNC speech with a brief acknowledgment of the unlikely scenario that is her presidential candidacy.
“So, America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was, no doubt, unexpected,” Harris said. “But I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys.”
Harris hinted at her term as vice president when discussing abortion and foreign policy but largely focused her message on the need to prevent a second Trump administration.
“Fellow Americans, this election is not only the most important of our lives, it is one of the most important in the life of our nation,” she said. “In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences — but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”
The vice president only mentioned the economy on three occasions, according to the speech transcript. She emphasized a supposed “new way forward” to counter Trump.
“Our nation, with this election, has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past, a chance to chart a new way forward,” Harris said. “Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.”
Trump noted on TruthSocial that Harris overlooked several key issues in her speech.
“She didn’t mention China, she didn’t mention fracking, she didn’t mention Energy, she didn’t mention, meaningfully, Russia and Ukraine, she didn’t mention the big subjects of the day, that are destroying our Country,” the former president posted.
Harris’ official campaign website still does not include a page on her policy positions.
“She’s talking about how great San Francisco was before she destroyed it, probably not a good idea!” Trump wrote in another post.
“No specific programs, ALL TALK, NO ACTION — Why didn’t she do it three and a half years ago?” he continued.
The vice president pushed several misleading and false statements in her speech, as reported by Fox News Digital, including claims that Trump called for a national abortion ban and cuts to Social Security, which never happened.
Harris leads Trump by 1.5 percentage points in RealClearPolitics’ aggregate of polling data. Trump led Biden by three percentage points before the president dropped out of the race.
The vice president surpassed Trump as the favorite in betting markets after her DNC speech.