Palestinians must have right of self-determination, says Kamala Harris

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Kamala Harris pledged to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and chart a “new way forward” as president in her closing speech to the Democratic convention on Thursday night.
In an address designed to tackle her political vulnerabilities head on, the US vice president vowed to deliver strong leadership on immigration and foreign policy.
Discussing Israel’s war in Gaza, Ms Harris said: “Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done”.
She pledged to “always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself”, but added: “what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating.”
The remarks were designed to strike a delicate balance between the party’s supporters of Israel and progressives who have staged pro-Palestinian protests outside the convention in Chicago each day.
However, the majority of the address was aimed towards undecided voters watching at home, whom polls suggest will determine the election’s outcome.
She said: “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.”
It was the biggest speech of the 59-year-old’s career, and her largest audience of the 2024 campaign to date.
The roughly 35-minute address was markedly different to the one she expected to deliver as Joe Biden’s running mate just over a month ago, when the US president was still adamant he would seek a second term.
Ms Harris acknowledged that “the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected”. “But I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys,” she said.
She paid tribute to Mr Biden, telling him she was “filled with gratitude” following his withdrawal from the 2024 race. “Your record is extraordinary, as history will show,” she said.
Yet she sought to break from it as she promised a “new way forward”, an effort to deny Trump of his mantle as the change candidate. 
It amounted to a dramatic reframing of the White House race, seeking to build on the polling and fundraising momentum Democrats have seen since Mr Biden’s exit on July 21.
Her appearance on stage triggered a two minute ovation, before she quieted the crowd with a call to “get to business”.
The 59-year-old cast November’s election as an “enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny”, accusing Trump, 78, of cosying up to “tyrants and dictators”.
She promised that as Commander-in-chief of the “strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world”, she would “stand strong” with Ukraine and Nato allies.
It was an address steeped in patriotic language and forceful rhetoric, aimed at Republicans and independent voters watching at home.
By contrast, she said: “Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency”.
She continued: “In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”
The comments built on a theme of the party’s gathering, with numerous prominent Republicans taking to the stage to warn against a second Trump term.
Ms Harris made no reference to the historic milestone she achieved in delivering an acceptance speech as the first woman of colour to top a major party’s ticket.
But as she formally accepted the Democratic nomination “on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks” her words were largely drowned out by raucous cheers from the crowd.
If successful on November 5, she will make history as America’s first female president.
She left it to previous speakers to allude to the historical weight of her campaign. Earlier in the evening, Rev Al Sharpton invoked the spirit of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman in Congress and the first woman to seek the Democratic nomination.
On Tuesday night, Michelle Obama, the former First Lady, had warned Trump would push “ugly, misogynistic, racist lies” but described Ms Harris as more than “qualified” for the job.
Ms Harris outlined her biography, as the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, but she largely avoided discussing identity politics.
Instead, she delivered an address calculated to court the middle class and confront some of her weakest issues, an effort to cut away from the Trump campaign’s effort to paint her as a “radical” and a “communist”.  
Woven into it were the notes of optimism sounded by other prominent Democrats throughout the convention, which culminated with Ms Harris’ speech.
The vice president cast herself as positive about America’s future, drawing a contrast in tone and substance with her opponent.
“With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past,” she said. “A chance to chart a new way forward.”
She also built on the claim made by many speakers at the convention, that Trump is a self-absorbed leader who is only concerned with his own interests.
Drawing on her background as a prosecutor, she said she had always worked “for the people”. If Trump returns to the Oval Office, she said, he will work “not to improve your life… but to serve the only client he has ever had: himself”.
Trump followed the speech live, responding in real-time on his social media platform Truth Social.
“She said, ‘Chart a new way forward,’ but she’s had three and a half years, and has done nothing but HARM!,” he wrote.
The Republican ex-president had attempted to steal some of the media spotlight with a trip to the US-Mexico border, speaking near a stretch of border wall built during his presidency in the battleground state of Arizona.
Ms Harris’ address closed out a four-day convention in which three US presidents – Mr Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton – all rallied in support of her White House bid.
The arena’s 23,500 seats were filled for the closing speech, which capped off a star-studded week with appearances by Oprah Winfrey, John Legend and Pink.
Read below for all the highlights from the last day of the DNC.
Thanks for following our live coverage of the DNC’s fourth, and final night, as Kamala Harris formally accepted the nomination as the Democrats’ presidential candidate. This live blog is now closed.
A spokesman for Beyonce denied reports she would perform on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“Beyoncé was never scheduled to be there,” a representative for the singer said. “The report of a performance is untrue.”
Around 100,000 red, white and blue balloons are currently cascading into the crowd, a staple of political conventions.
Kamala Harris is being joined on stage by her husband Doug Emhoff and the couple’s family.
There are large American flags being flown by audience members in virtually every section of the arena.  
Kamala Harris is burnishing her credentials as a potential Commander-in-chief.
A lot of her language tonight is steeped in patriotism. She has hailed America’s military as the “strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world”, and talked about the “pride of being an American”.
The vice president does not often focus heavily on foreign policy, but she devoted a sizeable chunk of her address to discussing the two major current global conflicts, Ukraine and Gaza.  
Kamala Harris has concluded her speech with a call to action, saying: “Together, let us write an the most extraordinary story ever told.”
She is joined onstage by Doug Emhoff, her husband – it is their 10th wedding anniversary today – along with her running mate Tim Walz.
Kamala Harris accuses Republicans of “denigrating America”.
“Our opponents in this race are out there every day, denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is. 
“Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach. Never let anyone tell you who you are, you show them who you are.
“America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities.
“We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world.”
There was a very vocal response to Harris’s line about supporting Ukraine, which is interesting as polls show even Democrats are somewhat divided on America’s support for the war now.
Her call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and condemnation of Hamas, also received a loud cheer, but there are some voices in the crowd calling out in response. It’s hard to hear what they are saying from where we are, but it sounds like cries of protest.
“I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran, and Iran-backed terrorists,” Kamala Harris declares. 
“I will not cosy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un, who are rooting for Trump – because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favours.
“They know Trump won’t hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself.”
“As President I will stand Strong with Ukraine and our Nato allies,” Kamala Harris says.
She says there needs to be a hostage deal to return Israeli hostages from Gaza, and a ceasefire to end the war between Israel and Hamas.
“And let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself,” she adds.
“I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again faced the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7.”
This speech has started to sound a lot like one of Kamala Harris’s speeches out on the campaign trail, which she has been giving for the last month or so.
The convention speech is usually an opportunity for a nominee to really set themselves out as a politician – and provide a unifying worldview for their campaign.
Ms Harris’s speech began like that, with some biographical detail, but has since become a fairly standard campaign speech. Let’s hope she has saved some good stuff for the second half.
Turning to border security, Kamala Harris says: “After decades in law enforcement, I know the importance of safety and security, especially at our border. 
“Last year, Joe and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades.
“The border patrol endorsed it. But Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign. So he ordered his allies in Congress to kill the deal.
“Well I refuse to play politics with our security,” she adds, pledging to ressurect the bill if elected in NOvember.
Kamala Harris is hammering Donald Trump on reproductive freedoms – a common theme in her campaign messaging.
“Husbands and fathers have shared their stories of women miscarrying in a parking lot, developing sepsis, losing the ability to ever again have children all because doctors are afraid they may go to jail for caring for their patients,.
“Couples just trying to grow their family cut off in the middle of IVF treatments, children who have survived sexual assault potentially being forced to carry a pregnancy to term. 
“This is what’s happening in our country because of Donald Trump.”
She claims that Trump and his allies are “out of their minds”, adding: “One must ask, Why exactly is it that they don’t trust women?”
Donald Trump hits back at Kamala Harris’ attempts to claim the middle class for herself.
“She’s talking about the middle class, but she’s the one who broke the middle class, and made it unsafe and unaffordable,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Kamala Harris says she will create an “opportunity economy where everyone has the chance to compete and a chance to succeed, whether you live in a rural area, small town or big city”.
She vows to “lower the cost of everyday needs like health care and housing and groceries”. 
“We will provide access to capital for small business owners and entrepreneurs and founders. And we will end America’s housing shortage.”
Ms Harris claims Donald Trump will not “fight for the middle class”, cut taxes for billionaires, and bring in a “Trump tax” that would “raise prices on middle class families by almost four a year.
“Well, instead of a Trump tax hike, we will pass a middle class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans,” she says.
“We are not going back,” Kamala Harris says repeatedly, with the crowd at Chicago’s United Centre taking up the chant.
“We are not going back to when Donald Trump tried to cut social security and Medicare,” Ms Harris continues.
“We are not going back to when Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security and Medicare.
“We are not going back to when he tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, when insurance companies could deny people with pre-existing conditions. 
“We are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools.”
“Consider his [Trump’s] explicit intent to set free violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol,” Kamala Harris continues.
“His explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents and anyone he sees as the enemy, his explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens. 
“Consider consider the power he will have, especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution.
“Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.”
“This election is not only the most important of our lives. It is one of the most important in the life of our nation,” Kamala Harris says.
“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.
“Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election. 
“Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes when he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers.”
Donald Trump is not impressed by Kamala Harris’ speech so far. “A lot of talk about childhood, we’ve got to get to the Border, Inflation, and Crime,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Kamal Harris has officially accepted the Democratic party’s nomination as its presidential candidate, prompting a wild outburst of cheers and applauding from the crowd.
“With this election, our nation, our nation, with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past – a chance to chart a new way forward,” she says.
“Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans… I promise to be a president for all Americans.”
Kamala Harris is describing her upbringing in San Francisco’s Bay Area, raised by a single mother from India.
Much of this script is familiar to those who closely followed her 2020 presidential bid.
But her rapid rise from California senator to vice president and now presidential nominee means much of the public may not be aware of her backstory.
This is the biggest platform Ms Harris has to introduce, or perhaps reintroduce, herself to Americans.
Kamala Harris says she was inspired to become a prosecutor when a school friend told her that she was being sexually abused by her step father.
“I immediately told her, she had to come stay with us. And she did,” Ms Harris says.
“This is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor to protect people, like Wanda, because I believe everyone has a right to safety, to dignity, and to justice.”
Paying tribute to her mother, Kamala Harris says: “My mother was a brilliant, five foot tall, brown woman with an accent and as the eldest child  I saw how the world would sometimes treat her.
“But my mother never lost her cool. She was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for women’s health, and she taught Maya and me a lesson that Michelle [Obama] mentioned the other night. 
“She taught us to never complain about injustice, but do something about it. Do something about it.”
Kamala Harris is introducing herself to voters, talking about her parents, how they split up, and how she moved with her mother to a “small apartment in the East Bay” in California.
“We lived in the flats, a beautiful working class neighborhood of firefighters, nurses and construction workers, all who tended their lawns with pride,” she says.
“My mother, she worked long hours, and like many working parents, she leaned on a trusted circle to help raise us.”
Kamala Harris begins her speech by paying tribute to Joe Biden, saying history will regard him as an “extraordinary” president.
“When I think about the path that we have travelled together, Joe, I am filled with gratitude,” she says. “Your record is extraordinary, as history will show and your character is inspiring.”
Mr Biden is reportedly watching Ms Harris’ convention address from home and called her before she went onstage to wish her luck.
Kamala Harris gets a rapturous reception as she heads onstage to accept the Democratic nomination for presidential candidate. “Good evening,” she says repeatedly – adding “We’ve got to get to some business” as she struggles to cut through the cheers and shouts.
Kamala Harris will attack Donald Trump as “unserious” when she addresses the Democratic national convention later this evening.
The vice president will call her Republican rival an “unserious man” when she takes to the stage in Chicago, but is expected to warn of “extremely serious” consequences if he wins the presidential election in November.
“We know what a second Trump term would look like. It’s all laid out in Project 2025,” Ms Harris will add, referencing a controversial policy document that was drawn up for the former president by a think tank.
Trump has disavowed its proposals, saying some are “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal”, even though dozens of his former and current aides worked to put it together.
Ms Harris will say: “In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.
“Consider the power he will have – especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled he would be immune from criminal prosecution.”
Throughout the four-day convention, Democrats have flipped between mocking Trump as “weird” and characterising him as an existential threat to democracy. Ms Harris appears to be trying to marry the two attack lines.
When Kamala Harris speaks tonight, we’re expecting her to lean heavily on her personal biography.
There’ll be plenty of focus on Donald Trump too.
But it appears as if another Donald will be conspicuously absent from both her speech and the arena: her father.
The 85-year-old Donald Harris is Ms Harris’ only surviving parent but has not featured in the proceedings or the campaign, unlike her sister and niece, who have both spoken tonight.
He has remained silent on his daughter’s political career with one notable exception. He accused her of playing “identity politics” when she invoked her Jamaican heritage when asked about marijuana on a radio show during the 2020 campaign.
Ms Harris’ parents separated while she was a child, and in her speech she’ll describe her late mother, Shyamala, as the one who “mostly raised us”, according to excerpts of her speech.
Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman and prominent Trump critic, has been given a prominent speaking slot on tonight’s schedule.
That is not for the benefit of the grassroot Democrat audience here in Chicago, but for undecided voters watching on prime time at home.
It’s just the latest example of how this convention is designed to appeal to swing voters, including longtime Republicans, and comes after a segment focused on national security and foreign policy – perhaps not issues typically associated with Kamala Harris.  
Adam Kinzinger says the party that he represented as a congressman for 12 years has abandoned its ideals for Donald Trump.
“How can a party claim to be patriotic if it idolises a man who tried to overthrow a free and fair election?” he asks.
“How can a party claim to stand for liberty if it sees a fight for freedom in Ukraine, an attack that is tyranny against democracy, a challenge to everything our nation claims to be, and it retreats? It equivocates? 
“It nominates a man who is weirdly obsessed with Putin and his running mate, who said, quote, ‘I don’t care what happens in Ukraine.’”
He urges conservatives to “put country first” and says, although he has differences with Kamala Harris, she shares his “allegiance to the rule of law, the Constitution, and democracy”.
“Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamental matters of principle, of decency and of fidelity to this nation,” Mr Kinzinger adds.
“To my fellow Republicans, if you still pledge allegiance to those principles, I suspect you belong here, too.”
Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman from Illinois turned Trump critic, is now onstage.
He admits that he has struck up an “awkward alliance” with the Democratic party “to defend truth to defend democracy and decency”.
In an latest overture to conservative voters, he says: “I’ve learned something about the Democratic Party, and I want to let my fellow Republicans in on the secret the Democrats are as patriotic as us.
“They love this country just as much as we do.
“And they and they are as eager to defend American values at home and abroad as we conservatives have ever been.”
Firing attacks on Donald Trump, Mr Kinzinger says: “He’s weak man pretending to be strong. He’s a small man pretending to be big. He’s a faithless man pretending to be righteous. He’s a perpetrator who can’t stop playing the victim.”
Gretchen Whitmer borrows a catchphrase from Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania governor. 
“Being a woman from Michigan is a badge of honour,” she says. “Like women across America, we just GSD: get stuff done.”
Of Kamala Harris, Ms Whitmer says: “She gets us. She sees us. She is us.”
“Donald Trump doesn’t know you at all,” she adds. “You think he understands that when your car breaks down, you can’t get to work? No, his first word was probably ‘chauffeur.’” 
Ms Harris is “tough, tested, and a total badass – I know who I want as our commander-in-chief,” she concludes. 
Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, has headed onto the stage. “In Detroit, they call me ‘Big Gretch,’” she introduces herself.
Leon Panetta, the former defence secretary and CIA director, has become the latest speaker to praise Kamala Harris’ toughness.
“Our warriors need a tough, cool-headed commander-in-chief to defend our democracy from tyrants and terrorists,” he tells the Democratic national convention. 
“We need Kamala Harris, behind the Resolute Desk. She knows a tyrant when she sees one. And our allies, know, a leader when they see one.”
“Trump would abandon our allies and isolate America,” Mr Panetta adds, describing the Republican’s isolationist stance as “foolish and dangerous”.
He declares that Ms Harris will keep the US military “the strongest in the world, the strongest ever known”, rather than using it to “threaten Americans” or “put immigrants in camp”.
Trump is the only US President in history who does not respect military veterans, he adds, claiming that the Republican “disrespect our heroes”.
Mark Kelly, the Arizona senator, is speaking now to bridge the gap between the segment of this evening on gun violence and the next theme: the military.
Mr Kelly, who was a contender for Kamala Harris’s running mate, is also married to Gabby Giffords, who spoke movingly just now about gun violence.
“Vice President Harris has always championed America’s support for Nato, for Ukraine and for the Ukrainian people.” There were cheers in the crowd at that. 
Mark Kelly, the Arizona senator, has returned to the stage.
“Gabby amazes me every single day,” he says, paying tribute to his wife, Gabby Giffords. “She was able to work out and address you tonight because she’s a fighter.”
He says the US is being tested by Russia while China, Iran and North Korea look on, and accuses Donald Trump of “sucking up to dictators and dreaming of becoming one himself”
“He invited Russia to do – and these are his words, not mine. – hatever. the hell they want,” he says.
By contrast, Mr Kelly adds: “Vice President Harris has always championed America’s support for NATO. For Ukraine. And for the Ukrainian people.”
Pink, the pop singer, is performing “What about us” onstage at the Democratic national convention. She is accompanied by her daughter, Willow Sage Hart, and acoustic guitarist Justin Derrico.
Gabby Giffords, a former representative from Arizona, is recalling her recovery from an assassination attempt by a gunman who shot her in the head and killed six people in the same attack
She pays tribute to Joe Biden and endorses Kamala Harris, saying: “She is tough, she has grit. Kamala can beat the gun lobby, she can fight gun trafficking.”
Ms Giffords was accompanied onstage by her husband, Arizona senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut whom Ms Harris considered as a running mate before selecting Tim Walz.
There has been a significant change in tone on the convention stage, as delegates hear from the families of victims of school shootings, including the Sandy Hook massacre and the Uvalde attack in 2022.
They have endorsed Kamala Harris, and spoke about the fight to have their children’s deaths properly investigated. The crowd is chanting “not one more”.
The White House just announced that Joe Biden and his wife called Kamala Harris to wish her luck ahead of her speech tonight.
Jill and I just spoke to @KamalaHarris — we can’t wait to watch her accept this historic nomination. Kamala and Tim will inspire a generation and lead us into the future. pic.twitter.com/guKuTevT8F
Joe Biden is planning to watch Kamala Harris deliver the headline address at the Democratic national convention tonight, a source tells CNN.
The FBI is investigating whether protesters placed maggots in the breakfast of delegates at the Democratic national convention, Axios reports.
The Indiana delegation, staying at the Fairmont hotel in Chicago, is reported to have been the target of the prank.
“The safety and well-being of our delegation is our top priority. All Americans have the right to peaceful protest, but ugly attacks like this have no place in our democracy,” Sam Barloga, the delegation’s spokesman, said.
“We thank the security team for responding swiftly.”
Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested as they clashed with Chicago police this week. Four people managed to breach the DNC security perimeter on Monday before they were detained.
Kamala Harris’ young nieces are on stage explaining how to pronounce the vice president’s name.
It’s a clever way of both clarifying for those still unsure while making light fun of Donald Trump’s frequent mispronunciation. 
There are lots of celebrities on the stage tonight. We just had a performance of the national anthem by The Chicks (formerly Dixie Chicks) and the actor Kerry Washington is now teaching delegates to correctly pronounce Kamala Harris’s name, with the help of two small children.
There was a brief appearance from the actor Tony Goldwyn, and the programme has now moved on to speeches by Ms Harris’s niece and stepdaughter.
The Chicks – a country trio from Texas, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks – are performing an a capella rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner.
The DJ who is compering tonight has just played Texas Hold ‘Em, one of Beyonce’s recent songs, and a mic stand has been brought onto the stage…
Kamala Harris could put a “dampener” on the Democratic national convention if she does not rise to the occasion with her speech tonight, a former top aide to Barack Obama has warned.
David Axelrod, who served as chief strategist to the former US president, told CNN that other speakers had been “very helpful” in setting the stage for Ms Harris, but that the vice president now had to “carry the ball”.
“This is her convention, and there’s so much Americans still want to learn about her, and they want to hear her tell it,” he said.
“This is a big moment for her. I think how she delivers this speech, and how it’s received, will ultimately put a coda on this convention or open a dampener on it.
“I think she’s going to do pretty well.”
Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania governor, has accused Donald Trump of anti-Semitism after the former president claimed he had done “nothing for Israel”.
Mr Shapiro, who is Jewish and seen as one of the Democrats’ rising star, had attacked Trump as a “man without guardrails who wants to take away our rights and freedoms” when he addressed the Democratic national convention on Wednesday night.
Trump fired back on his Truth Social platform, calling Mr Shapiro a “highly overrated Jewish governor” who “refused to acknowledge that I am the best friend that Israel, and the Jewish people, ever had”.
“Shapiro has done nothing for Israel, and never will,” he claimed.
Mr Shapiro said on Thursday that the Republican had “routinely peddled anti-Semitism tropes like this” – referring to the notion that Jewish people owe their true loyalty to Israel.
“It’s clear that he’s going to continue to be the hateful, divisive person that he’s always been in this campaign,” he added.
The celebrity news website TMZ is now reporting that Beyonce will perform tonight. The outlet says it has spoken to multiple people who confirmed she is in Chicago.
The performance has not yet been confirmed by the DNC, but it is looking very likely we will see her on the stage tonight.
The aura of history is in the air tonight.
Reverend Al Sharpton – the activist, preacher and media personality – invoked the spirit of Shirley Chisholm in a nod to the milestone that will be marked when Kamala Harris takes the stage later tonight.
Ms Chisholm, the first black woman to serve in Congress, was of course the first woman to seek the Democratic presidential nomination when she made her 1972 White House bid against widespread opposition from many in her party.
When Ms Harris launched her 2020 presidential bid, she also drew on Ms Chisholm’s memory, replicating her campaign’s colour scheme and making her announcement on Martin Luther King Jr Day.
“Tonight we are going to realise Shirley Chisholm’s dream,” Sharpton said.
There is a noticeably more energetic crowd for the last night of the DNC. The audience is currently hearing from the Central Park Five – a group of teenagers who were wrongly convicted of assault in the New York park in 1989.
They are criticising Donald Trump, who took out a full page newspaper ad calling for the reintroduction of the death penalty in the aftermath of the conviction.
“He hasn’t changed, and he never will,” said one of the exonerated men. The crowd is cheering after every sentence they speak.
Kamala Harris will issue a plea for national unity in when she accepts the Democratic nomination today, saying:
With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. 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.
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.
Kamala Harris will talk about being raised by a single mother in a working-class community when she addresses the Democratic convention later today.
The vice president will say, according to excerpts released by her campaign:
America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected. But I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys.
My mother Shyamala Harris had one of her own. I miss her every day – especially now. And I know she’s looking down tonight, and smiling.
My mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, traveling from India to California with an unshakeable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer.
It was mostly my mother who raised us. Before she could finally afford to buy a home, she rented a small apartment in the East Bay. In the Bay, you either live in the hills or the flatlands. 
We lived in the flats – a beautiful working-class neighborhood of firefighters, nurses, and construction workers, all who tended their lawns with pride. 
Donald Trump is losing his grip on the presidential race because he is “way off his game” and his act has become “stale”, Gavin Newsom, the California governor, has claimed.
The former president had been viewed as the frontrunner as recently as July, but is struggling to adjust after Joe Biden ducked out of the contest and anointed Kamala Harris as his successor four weeks ago.
Gavin Newsom told Fox News: “There’s a stale air of normalcy, a stale air of the past representing Donald Trump. And I mean this – I mean this sincerely. I know this tough audience that’s going to take it from me.
“He’s derivative of himself. He’s less interesting. I’m less interested. He’s not as entertaining. He seems way off his game.
“For some time now, ever since that his convention speech, something just seems off.”
There is frenzied speculation about tonight’s special guests.
Earlier the whispers were around a potential appearance by Beyonce.
This evening, the rumour mill is in overdrive about the possibility of Taylor Swift appearing.
Having watched Pink’s rehearsal earlier, I can confirm at least one musician is definitely performing tonight.
A very moving moment when Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren steps out onto the stage here at the United Center.
Elizabeth Warren is teary eyed at the reception she’s getting at the DNC pic.twitter.com/9IP3vDfEtb
She looked teary eyed at the eruption of cheers from the crowd, which went on for at least a minute or two.
The 75-year-old remains a major figure among the party’s progressive wing.
Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator and a former rival of Kamala Harris’ during the 2020 primaries, is full of praise for the vice president.
“While Donald [Trump] was scamming students at Trump University and trying to make money off people losing their homes. Kamala Harris stepped up,” she tells the convention.
“She enforced the law, she fought the giant banks, and she delivered millions of dollars of help for families.”
Taking the first of many swipes at Trump over his legal woes, Ms Warren adds: “And that is the difference between a criminal and a prosecutor.”
Tammy Baldwin, a Democratic senator from the battleground state of Wisconsin, claims Donald Trump will cut Medicare – the health insurance programme for over-65s – if he is elected.
“Kamala Harris not going to let that happen,” she says, adding: “Wisconsin’s state motto is forward, and my friends, that’s where we’re heading.”
Trum appeared to suggest he was open to Medicare cuts earlier this year before backing away from the policy.
Ms Baldwin is the first of many Democrats representing swing states who are scheduled to speak this evening. Others include Gretchen Whitmen, the Michigan governor, and Mark Kelly, the Arizona senator.
Ted Lieu, a California congressman and friend of Kamala Harris, begins his speech by poking fun at Donald Trump.
“As a computer science major I am so impressed with how large this AI-generated crowd looks tonight,” he says, to laughs from the crowd.
Trump has falsely accused Ms Harris of using artificial intelligence to “fake” the size of the crowds at her campaign events.
Donald Trump has attacked Kamala Harris for allowing illegal immigrants to “pour” into the US just hours before she heads on stage to address the Democratic national convention.
The former president, who campaigned at the US-Mexico border earlier today, wrote on social media: “The millions of Illegal Aliens pouring into our Country because of Comrade Harris, our “Border Czar,” and her Open Border Policies, are taking the jobs of our Black and Hispanic workers and families. 
“Big numbers and displacement. Not fair! Vote for Trump and stop the madness!!! The unions are next!!!”
In a later post Trump praised the sections of border wall that were constructed during his presidency. 
“Look at all the wall that I built,” he said. “Hundreds of miles, as far as the eye can see. Anti-climb panel on top!!! Walls work!!!”
The final night of the Democratic national convention has begun. The speakers tonight include Mark Kelly, the Arizona senator, Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan governor, and – of course – Kamala Harris, who will accept the party’s nomination as its presidential candidate.
The Democratic convention is expected feature a performance of the national anthem by the Chicks, an all-female Texan country band.
Pop singer Pink, a frequent critic of Donald Trump who endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 election, is expected to take to the stage later in the evening.
There are rumours that Beyonce, who sang at Barack Obama’s inauguration, could make an appearance, but this has not been confirmed.
Kamala Harris will show how she can “help middle-class families” by talking about her experience as a senior lawyer in her speech tonight, a senior adviser to her campaign has said.
Gene Sperling told Fox News: “The more important thing that she will do tonight is talk about her biography, who she is, who she fights for. 
“And what you’re going to see as a person who, as a prosecutor, as an attorney general, took on powerful interests to help middle-class families, people being hurt.”
Kamala Harris needs to her focus on personality instead of policy in her convention speech, a former top aide to George W. Bush has said.
Karl Rove, who is known as “The Architect” of Mr Bush’s two presidential election victories, said that Ms Harris is an unfamiliar figure to voters just 10 weeks from polling day and needed to explain “what makes her tick”.
“While candidates normally would be well-known to voters by this point in the race, Ms. Harris isn’t that familiar,” Mr Rove wrote in the Wall Street Journal.
“Vice presidents aren’t that visible and she skipped a 2024 primary, so she needs to help voters know what her life story is and what makes her tick. There’s plenty of time to get deep into policy details.
“If she’s shrewd, she’ll do with her speech Thursday night what Mr. Biden didn’t with his.
 She can show Americans her values and views, lay out what issues are important to her, project a positive and forward-looking vision and share the spirit of her politics of joy. 
“If she does, she may well succeed as president the man who, as we saw again Monday, couldn’t outrun time.”
Kamala Harris, the vice president, will deliver the headline address of the convention tonight as she formally accepts the nomination as the Democrats’ presidential candidate.
A series of Democrats from battleground states will take to the stage ahead of her: Mark Kelly, the Arizona senator, Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan governor, and Roy Cooper, the North Carolina governor.
Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman turned Donald Trump critic, will also speak.
Like other Republicans who have addressed the convention, he will likely attack the former president and urge independent and conservative voters to back Ms Harris.
Robert F Kennedy Jr could hand a major campaign boost to Donald Trump on Friday amid speculation he will end his presidential run and throw his support behind the Republican.
Mr Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer who is the nephew of John F Kennedy, has the support of around five per cent of voters nationwide.
The 70-year-old has built a controversial campaign based on small-state liberalism and the rejection of large corporations.
He will address the country from Phoenix, Arizona on Friday to discuss his “path forward”, amid speculation he will endorse Trump and end his campaign.
Read the full story from Tony Diver, our US Editor, here.
Donald Trump intends to do a “live play by play” response to Kamala Harris’ Democratic convention speech this evening on his Truth Social platform.
“We will expose all of her radicalism, the horrible job she did at the border, crime, and foreign relations, and her weaponisation against her political opponent, using corrupt prosecutors and courts,” he said.
Trump did a live rebuttal at Joe Biden’s State of the Union address earlier this year, when he accused the US President of taking performance-enhancing drugs for what was widely considered an energetic performance.
Today is a big day for Kamala Harris for two reasons.
She will formally accept the nomination for the Democrats’ presidential candidate, becoming the first woman of colour to do so in the party’s history.
In an address that is likely to be watched by millions of people, she will attempt to introduce herself to voters, just over 10 weeks away from polling day.
But it is significant for another reason: it is Ms Harris’ 10th wedding anniversary with Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman.
“To the best partner I could ask for: Happy anniversary, Dougie,” she wrote in a social media post, sharing a picture of herself touching her husband’s cheek.
In a speech to the DNC on Tuesday, Mr Emhoff recalled how he met Ms Harris on a blind date, having asked her out with a “rambling” voicemail that she recorded and plays to him on anniversaries.
To the best partner I could ask for: Happy anniversary, Dougie. pic.twitter.com/zuk3XbfaEO
Kamala Harris will seek to introduce herself to voters in her speech this evening because “people don’t know that much about the vice president”, her campaign chair has said.
Jen O’Malley Dillon told the Washington Post: “We know how important it is for the American people to learn more about the vice president. 
“And you’re going to hear how those stories and life, jobs and interactions and personal connections have built the framing for the leader she is, the value she shares, who she’s fighting for.”
Ms O’Malley Dillon said Ms Harris would take the opportunity to demonstrate how her background “shows how that she’s going to make a difference”.
The vice president will also share “the vision she has for this country” and speak on “what’s at stake in this country” in her headline address, she added.
Kamala Harris will seek to draw a contrast with Donald Trump by talking about her time working in McDonald’s when she rounds off the Democratic national convention this evening.
The vice president intends to introduce herself to Americans by discussing her time working for the fast food outlet as a student, being raised by a single mother, and other details from her background.
“I understand what you’re going through because I’ve been there,” she will say, according to Politico. “Donald Trump has not.”
Ms Harris is expected drive home her differences with the Republican candidate, both in terms of tone and policy, while setting out her vision for the country.
Tim Walz declared Republicans should “mind their own damn business” on reproductive rights as he accepted the party’s vice presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday.
The Minnesota governor, who rose from relative obscurity to become Kamala Harris’s running mate after Joe Biden stepped down last month, gave the biggest speech of his career as the headliner at the DNC in Chicago.
His 15-minute speech focused heavily on reproductive rights, education and the family unit – issues that poll well for the Democrats with moderate and swing voters.
The 60-year-old Democrat’s son sobbed from the audience as his father launched a defence of the fertility treatments used by his wife, Gwen.
Read the full run-down on what happened on third day of the DNC here.
Hello and welcome to the live blog. Benedict Smith here. We’ll be bringing you all the updates from the fourth and final day of the Democratic national convention, where Kamala Harris will deliver the headline address later around 3:45am BST (10:45pm ET).