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DNC 2024 Day 4 live updates: Harris makes her case for the presidency -- 'fight for America's future'
Harris set her agenda in a rousing speech at the DNC.
The moment that millions around the country have been waiting for took place Thursday at the Democratic National Convention as Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the nomination for the presidency.
Harris took the stage to a roaring standing ovation and soon set her agenda in a rousing speech.
Whether it was immigration, reproductive rights or foreign security, the vice president showcased a sharp contrast in policies to former President Donald Trump.
Harris's speech was preceded by a who's who of leaders from both sides of the aisle who all made the case that she is the best person to be the nation's leader.
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Harris to promise to be 'a president for all Americans'
In her acceptance speech tonight, Harris will deliver a message of unity as Democrats look to appeal to independent voters.
"With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past," she will say. "A chance to chart a New Way Forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans."
"I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans," Harris will say, according to released excerpts of her speech.
"I will be a president who unites 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. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my life's work."
Trump's tie to the 'Central Park 5' case
Four of the five men in the "Central Park Five" who were wrongfully convicted in the 1989 rape of a Central Park jogger appeared at the DNC.
The five Black and Latino men, who were teenagers at the time of their arrest, were taken into custody, hounded in police interrogations and ultimately gave false confessions in the brutal assault on jogger Trisha Meili.
While the five teenagers awaited their trial, former President Donald Trump bought newspaper ads calling for New York to adopt the death penalty for violent crimes.
"Bring back the death penalty. Bring back our police!" the ad stated in all caps.
The five men were exonerated in 2002 after convicted rapist Matias Reyes confessed to being Meili's sole attacker, and Reyes' DNA was matched to the crime scene. New York City settled with the Central Park Five in 2014 for $41 million in a civil rights lawsuit.
When asked in 2019, following the release of a Netflix series about the case, whether he would apologize for the ads to the men who were exonerated in the Central Park jogger case, Trump refused.
"Why do you bring that question up now? It's an interesting time to bring it up. You have people on both sides of that," he said. "They admitted their guilt. If you look at Linda Fairstein and you look at some of the prosecutors, they think that the city should never have settled that case, so we'll leave it at that."
Following Trump's indictment in 2023 on 34 felony counts of falsified business records in the hush money case, some of the exonerated men called it "karma."
Speakers make case for Harris as commander in chief
The DNC is highlighting national security, with recent speakers Colorado Rep. Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger; Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin and New York Rep. Pat Ryan, an Army veteran, making the case for Harris as the commander in chief.
"I'll tell you what I think of Donald Trump. They told me I can't say that word on TV," Ryan said.
Slotkin leans in on patriotism
Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., made it clear: Democrats are patriotic, too.
Her speech was the most vocal example of how Democrats are taking back words like "freedom" and symbols like the flag, leaning on her time in the CIA and accusing Republicans of betraying the values they represent.
"We're the damn United States of America. We lead," she thundered in conclusion.