Kamala Harris made it official by accepting the nod remotely from a Wisconsin rally.Photo: Getty Images North America
Night two of the Democratic National Convention kicked off with a bang on Tuesday night, as Kamala Harris officially accepted her party's nomination.
Harris accepted the nod remotely from a rally in Wisconsin,saying "We are so honored to be your nominees. This is a people-powered campaign and together we will chart a new way forward." Her official acceptance won't come until Thursday. Officials in Chicago have already scheduled a watch party at Soldier Field to let supporters view that speech.
Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz, speaking at the same venue as Harris, contrasted the DNC with the Republican convention a few weeks ago. In fiery remarks, Walz said “That convention had one purpose, to coronate one man. This is where we’re at. It’s not a celebration of — a coronation of one man over there. It’s a celebration of all of us over there. Not only do we have massive energy at our convention, we got a hell of a lot more energy at where they had their convention, right here."
The evening's featured speakers, Barack and Michelle Obama, didn't disappoint. The former first lady offered an upbeat speech with many references to her late mother, heralding the "comeback of hope" and jabbing Trump with the line "the job he's seeking is one of those Black jobs." The 44th president echoed the message of hope, praising Harris's work for the middle class, but taking the time to take a few shots at Donald Trump by mocking his obsession with crowd size.
A number of other big names gave speeches over the course of the evening, with firebrand Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders highlighting the accomplishments of Joe Biden and Harris in helping the nation out of the COVID crisis. Illinois governor J.B Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt Hotel chain, chose to take aim at Trump, saying "“Donald Trump thinks we should trust him on the economy because he claims to be very richTake it from an actual billionaire, Trump is rich in only one thing: stupidity.”
Commentator Ana Navarro put what might've been the most interesting spin on things in her speech, saying “Dogs are good judges of character. So are cats. We cannot elect a president who does not like dogs – or hangs around with people who shoot them" -- a reference to Trump's ties to South Dakota Senator Kristi Noem.