Harris made a forceful defence of Ukraine and NATO in her speech as she lambasted Donald Trump’s past comments on the war in Ukraine.
Kamala Harris pledged her support for Ukraine’s war against Russia as she officially accepted the Democratic nomination to run for president in November’s election.
She also reaffirmed her support for NATO, which has been helping Ukraine fight the war for more than two years.
“As President, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies,” Harris said.
Speaking on the last day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Harris’s speech focused on unity as she pledged to lead “for all Americans” and to create an “opportunity economy”.
“I love our country with all my heart. Everywhere I go and everyone I meet, I see a nation that is ready to move forward, ready for the next step and the incredible journey that is America,” she said.
She lambasted Republican nominee Donald Trump’s past comments on the war and said that five days before the Russian invasion in February 2022 she had “warned President Zelenskyy”.
There was no shift in position from the Biden administration on Israel, with Harris saying she would always defend America’s key ally. But she also said it was time to to end the more than 10-months war in Gaza.
“Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done,” she said.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have demonstrated outside on every day of the convention, angry over America’s continued military support for the Israeli operation in Gaza.
Harris blasted the “unspeakable” violence that took place during Hamas’s incursion into Israel on October 7 but also said that “what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating”.
She also touched on her immigration policy, saying a bipartisan border security bill that fell apart in Congress this year was down to Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign, so he ordered his allies in Congress to kill the deal,” she said. “Well I refuse to play politics with our security.”
Harris said she intends to bring the bill back and sign it into law.
Record numbers of migrants were detained at the southern border during the Biden administration but the number of unlawful crossings has fallen for five consecutive months.
Harris also spoke about one of the key issues from her vice presidency: reproductive rights.
She attacked Trump for appointing a conservative justice to the Supreme Court, who later overturned Roe v Wade, which had protected the federal right to abortion for decades.
“Now he brags about it,” she said. “Simply put, they are out of their minds.”
Abortion is an issue many Democrats have been keen to see Harris capitalise on and i i’s a topic that has galvanised Democratic voters.
Voters in the United States head to the polls on November 5.
