"We're not going back": Harris focuses on future with warning on Trump

CHICAGO — Cramped in aisles, tucked away against walls and tables and even crouched on the convention floor, thousands flooded into the United Center in Chicago to witness the final night of the Democratic National Convention.

And as Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris stood in front of the packed crowd Thursday, the vice president said she was aware of the unpredictability that transpired her taking on that stage.

“The path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected — but I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys,” Harris said. 

While often noted for her laugh and sense of humor, the vice president held a focused, more stern approach to accepting her nomination on the convention stage and laying out her promises as president. 

“I will be the president who united us around our highest aspirations, a president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical and has common sense and always fights for the American people,” Harris said. “From the courthouse to the White House, that has always been my life’s work.”

Harris’ stances echo a continuation of the work President Joe Biden’s administration carried out or began, like supporting American allies abroad, including Ukraine and Israel, and restoring reproductive freedoms. But the party nominee said the “defining goal” of her presidency will be personal for her: building a strong middle class. 

As she opened her speech, Harris discussed her background in length, sharing her experience as the child of immigrants with “a big Mayflower truck” that was always packed ready to go to Illinois, Wisconsin or “wherever our parents’ jobs took us.”

The fourth and final night of the convention, titled “For Our Future,” incorporated themes that expanded upon Harris’ slogan: “we’re not going back.” The vice president repeated the idea throughout her speech – as did many speakers in the days leading up to Harris’ – that while Republican Donald Trump seeks regression for American society, Democrats are seeking a new era of progress.

“Our nation, with this election, has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past,” Harris said. “A chance to chart a new way forward, not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.” 

The night featured many of Harris’ career highlights, with speakers who said her work bettered their communities – including veterans, prosecutors, families who lost loved ones to gun violence and sexual abuse survivors.  

“America, we’ve got a lot of big fights ahead of us and we’ve got one hell of a fighter ready to take them on,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said before Harris took the stage. “I know that because I know her and, tonight, I want the American people to know, even if you don’t agree with her on everything, Kamala Harris will fight for you.”

The convention saw the biggest turnout of the week, with officials saying the venue reached capacity and had to limit access in certain areas because of fire code. Unable to find seats, attendees filled up staircases and leaned against walls and each other. 

Adding to the diversity of the speaker lineup, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said endorsing Harris wasn’t limited to just Democrats. Kinzinger felt at home on the convention speaking about how Trump has taking over his party. 

“The Republican Party is no longer conservative. It has switched its allegiance from the principles that gave it purpose to a man whose only principle is himself,” Kinzinger said. 

During her speech, Harris emphasized what she called the dangers of a Trump second term, especially following the Supreme Court ruling from July that deemed a president is “absolutely immune from criminal prosecution for conduct within his exclusive sphere of constitutional authority.”

“Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States, not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had – himself,” Harris said.

During his speech, Kinzinger said patriotism wasn’t exclusive to Republicans, and that he saw that sense of American pride in Democrats as well. As attendees wore flag-colored cowboy hats, white clothes to show solidarity with a female president and broke into “USA!” chants frequently – that sense of national pride was clear. 

The patriotism was prominent from Harris herself as she called the United States the “greatest democracy in the history of the world.”

“We must be worthy of this moment. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, guided by optimism and faith to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth — the privilege and pride of being an American.”