Editor’s note: NBC Chicago will offer a live feed of evening and primetime speeches each day Monday-Thursday in the player above, on the NBC 5 Chicago News 24/7 streaming channel and on the NBC Chicago YouTube Channel.
Vice President Kamala Harris closes out the Democratic National Convention in Chicago Thursday night when she accepts her party’s historic presidential nomination and seizes one of her few remaining opportunities to appeal to 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 beginning of her rally in Milwaukee was streamed into the convention hall after Democrats reaffirmed their nomination of her with a state-by-state roll call.
Harris on Thursday will lay out her vision for the country and prosecute 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 atop the Democratic ticket.
Harris has three objectives for her speech, according to a campaign official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive speech preparations. She’ll share her background rising from a middle-class family to protect others as a prosecutor, contrast her “optimistic” vision with Trump’s “dark” agenda and 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’ll speak a day after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her choice for running mate, thanked the packed United Center for “ bringing the joy ” to the election.
“We’re all here tonight for one beautiful, simple, reason: We love this country,” Walz said as thousands of delegates hoisted vertical placards reading “Coach Walz” in red, white and blue.
Among others who will speak before Harris on Thursday are Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, civil rights leader Al Sharpton and Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. The singer Pink also will perform.
What time is Harris speaking at the DNC?
Harris is slated to headline the fourth and final day of the convention Thursday, which means she will be the last speaker to take the stage.
Speeches Thursday are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. and continue through 10 p.m., but each night of the convention so far has run beyond that time frame.
More details on the schedule are expected to be released at a 9 a.m. CDT press conference with a full schedule later Thursday.
What to know about Harris’ speech
Harris has already made two notable speeches during the convention so far, one on the United Center in a surprise during the campaign’s first night, and a second virtually from a rally held in Wisconsin Tuesday.
But during Thursday’s speech, she is widely expected to offer her vision and policy agenda to the American people.
While Harris’ candidacy has unleashed a high level of enthusiasm and determination among Democrats, she is still defining her policy priorities and the ideological direction she will take the party. Last Friday, she unveiled her first major policy goal when she announced a raft of economic policies meant to lower the cost of living for working- and middle-class Americans.
The pop star Pink is set to headline the final night of the convention. The Rev. Al Sharpton, the prominent civil rights leader, has also announced he will speak.
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.
On Sunday evening, Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris arrives in Chicago for the DNC
“What you’ve also seen is the vice president begin to lay out her vision for how she wants to move this country forward. It’s why, last week, she went to North Carolina to unveil some of the first planks of her economic agenda that’s focused on lowering costs for the American people, right?” Harris-Walz Campaign Communications Director Michael Tyler said Wednesday. “How do we lower grocery costs? Take on meat processors. How do we lower the cost of housing for people? Through number one, building more housing, but also assisting first time home buyers, assisting renters. How do we actually have a tax code that’s fair for the middle class? The vice president wants to give the middle class a tax cut.”
How to watch
All floor sessions of the Democratic National Convention will be livestreamed on NBC Chicago’s website and mobile app, and 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.
Streaming times (all times Central):
Thursday: 5:30-10 p.m.