Editor’s Note: NBC Chicago will provide a live stream of the evening and primetime speeches each day Monday through Thursday in the player above, on the NBC 5 Chicago News 24/7 streaming channel. and on NBC Chicago’s YouTube channel.
Vice President Kamala Harris closes the Democratic National Convention in Chicago Thursday night by accepting her party’s historic presidential nomination and seizing one of the few remaining opportunities to draw an audience of millions.
Harris spoke briefly to the convention on Monday, when she thanked Biden and celebrated his record as president, and again on Tuesday, when the start of her Milwaukee rally was broadcast to the convention floor after Democrats reaffirmed their nomination for her in a state-by-state roll call.
On Thursday, Harris will lay out her vision for the country and continue her case against Republican Donald Trump, capping a whirlwind month that began when President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed her to replace him as the Democratic leader.
According to a campaign official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss preparations for her speech, Harris has three goals. She will talk about her background, from her middle-class family to protecting others as a prosecutor, she will contrast her “optimistic” vision with Trump’s “bleak” agenda and she will evoke a sense of patriotism, the official said.
Harris will be the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to accept a major party’s presidential nomination. She will speak a day after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her vice presidential pick, thanked the packed United Center for “bringing joy” to the election.
“We are all here tonight for one simple and beautiful reason: We love this country,” Walz said as thousands of delegates held up vertical signs reading “Coach Walz” in red, white and blue.
Among the dignitaries scheduled to speak before Harris on Thursday are Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, civil rights advocate Al Sharpton and Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. Singer Pink will also perform.
What time does Harris speak at the DNC?
Harris is scheduled to headline the fourth and final day of the convention on Thursday, meaning she will be the last speaker to take the stage.
Thursday’s speeches are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. and continue until 10 p.m., but so far every night of the convention has extended beyond that time slot.
Further details on the schedule are expected to be released at a press conference at 9 a.m. CDT and a full schedule later Thursday.
What you need to know about Harris’ speech
Harris has already delivered two notable speeches during the convention so far, one at the United Center in a surprise on the first night of the campaign, and a second virtually at a rally in Wisconsin on Tuesday.
But in her speech on Thursday, she is widely expected to present her vision and policy agenda to the American people.
While Harris’ candidacy has generated great enthusiasm and determination among Democrats, she has yet to define her policy priorities and the ideological direction she wants to give the party. Last Friday, she unveiled her first major policy goal by announcing a series of economic measures designed to reduce the cost of living for working- and middle-class Americans.
Pop star Pink will headline the final night of the convention, and prominent civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton has also announced he will speak.
Harris spoke generally about her support for the Biden administration’s core goals, which are more or less endorsed in the platform as written.
Harris rolled out a series of new economic proposals last week but has not released a detailed list of her policy positions since taking over the Democratic ticket. Campaign aides have suggested she is no longer adhering to some of the more liberal positions she took during her first presidential campaign in 2020, including endorsing a ban on fracking.
Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris arrives in Chicago for the DNC on Sunday night.
“You’ve also seen the vice president start to lay out her vision for how she wants to move this country forward. That’s why last week she went to North Carolina to unveil some of the first pieces of her economic agenda that is focused on reducing costs for the American people, right?” Michael Tyler, the Harris-Walz campaign’s communications director, said Wednesday. “How do we reduce the cost of groceries? Going after meatpackers. How do we reduce the cost of housing for people? First, building more housing, but also helping first-time homebuyers, helping renters. How do we actually have a tax code that’s fair to the middle class? The vice president wants to give the middle class a tax cut.”
How to watch
All sessions of the Democratic National Convention will be streamed live on NBC Chicago’s website and mobile app, as well as in the player above.
The speeches will also be available on the NBC 5 Chicago News 24/7 streaming channel and on the NBC Chicago YouTube channel.
Viewers can also expect expanded coverage via Telemundo Chicago and the Telemundo Chicago app.
Broadcast times (Central time):
Thursday: 5:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.
