While Democratic Party delegates will hear from presidential nominee Kamala Harris when the 2024 Democratic National Convention wraps up Thursday, the group got a special welcome from the vice president herself a few days early.
In a stunning surprise, Harris walked out on stage to greet delegates and deliver a short tribute to President Joe Biden on Day 1 of the convention.
“This is going to be a great week,” she stated to a round of applause. “I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible President Joe Biden… Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation and for all you will continue to do, we are forever grateful to you.”
Harris arrived in Chicago Sunday, and while it was expected she would be in attendance Monday, it was uncertain if she’d take the stage prior to Thursday.
Harris’ acceptance speech on Thursday will come just four weeks after President Joe Biden shuttered his campaign and made way for Harris to ascend to the top of Democrats’ ticket.
You’re watching the NBC 5 Chicago News streaming channel, which plays local Chicago news 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can find the “NBC 5 Chicago News” streaming channel on your phone or computer, and on Peacock, Samsung, Roku, Xumo or on our app, so you can watch our local news on your schedule.
The largely ceremonial vote at the convention will signal the party coalescing around a singular vision for the next four years.
Harris has talked generally about supporting the Biden administration’s key goals, which are more or less endorsed in the platform as written.
Harris laid out a string of new economic proposals last week but otherwise hasn’t released a detailed list of her policy positions since taking over the top of the Democratic ticket. Her campaign aides have suggested she no longer adheres to some of the more liberal positions she took during her first run for president in 2020, including endorsing a ban on hydraulic fracturing.
An exact time for Thursday’s acceptance speech hasn’t been announced.