There is great excitement at the United Center in Chicago as the Democratic Party Convention begins.
The first evening of the convention will focus on Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ career in public service – from district attorney to attorney general and finally to U.S. senator and vice president.
President Joe Biden will be the keynote speaker on Monday, in what will likely be a bittersweet moment for the lifelong Democrat. President Biden was on track to secure the Democratic nomination until he stumbled in a debate in June. After initially resisting calls to step down, the president dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Harris in July.
RELATED STORY | Vance blames Harris for high housing costs in interview with Scripps News Milwaukee
In addition to President Biden, former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton will also speak on Monday.
Other speakers this evening include:
- UAW President Sean Fain
- Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
- Representative Jamie Raskin
- Representative Jasmine Crockett
- MP Grace Meng
- Governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear
- Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock
- Senator Chris Coons
Speakers expected later in the week include former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, former First Lady Michelle Obama and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz will deliver the keynote address on Wednesday, and the week will conclude with Harris’ acceptance speech on Thursday.
Party programme published
Thousands of Democratic delegates will vote this week on the party platform, a 91-page document that lays out the priorities for a possible Harris presidency. The platform consists of nine sections.
“President Biden, Vice President Harris and the Democrats want to get the job done. We want our economy to grow from the middle and bottom up, not top down. We want to reward work, not wealth,” the platform says. We want to cut costs. We want to tackle the climate crisis, reduce energy costs and ensure energy independence. We want to protect communities and fight the scourge of gun violence. We want to secure the border and fix the broken immigration system. We want to advance the president’s unity agenda. We want to strengthen American leadership around the world.”
RELATED STORY | Vice President Harris proposes increasing the child tax credit to up to $6,000 per child
Although the manifesto is intended to serve as a guide for Democrats, it also seeks to contrast the party’s policies with those of Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump. Trump’s name is mentioned nearly 150 times throughout the document.
“Donald Trump has a very different vision – one that is not focused on opportunity and optimism, but on vengeance and retribution; not on the American people, but on themselves,” the platform says. “He and his extreme MAGA allies are ripping away our basic personal freedoms, dictating what choices women can make on health issues, banning books, and telling people who they can love.”
