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Kamala Harris prepares for the biggest night of her life - but will she be able to top memorable speeches by Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey

4 weeks ago 7

By Emily Goodin, Senior White House Correspondent In Chicago

Published: 20:19 BST, 22 August 2024 | Updated: 20:46 BST, 22 August 2024

Kamala Harris' acceptance speech on Thursday night will be the biggest moment of her political career.

Her speech will cap off a week of high-profile remarks, particularly from black women. Michelle Obama spoke on Tuesday and Oprah Winfrey on Wednesday. Both gave memorial speeches that are still be talked about.

Will Harris be able to top them?

Harris is feeling the pressures. She has held rehearsals complete with teleprompters in three different time zones, the New York Times reported.

Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday evening

Her aides have made it clear to convention staff that they don't want any of the timing issues that have pushed the night's top speaker out of prime time, Politico reported.

President Joe Biden started nearly an hour after prime time ended on the East Coast. Tim Walz started 20 minutes after prime time.

And mistakes will not be tolerated.

'They better not even think about cutting her damn video like they did President Biden's,' one of her aides told the outlet.

Harris, on July 21st, had to quickly pivot from being the running mate to being at the top of the ticket after Joe Biden exited the presidential race.

Biden endorsed her and, within a week, she had wrapped up the delegates votes to secure the nomination.

She took on most of Biden's campaign staff and organization, bringing in a few of her own people and some Barack Obama alum. 

When she speaks on Thursday evening, it will be her 10th anniversary with her husband Doug Emhoff. And it will mark 75 days until the November election.

For many Americans, this will be the first time seeing Harris giving a long speech. She is not know for her soaring rhetoric but gained national attention when she used her prosecutor skills to question Donald Trump's judicial nominees. Many clips of her questions went viral on social media.

While she has perfected a stump speech to Democratic supporters – with well-received lines like how she knows men like Donald Trump – she hasn't made a general speech to the nation.

Her remarks focus on three key objectives as she makes her pitch to become the next president of the United States.

She will share her personal story; contrast her vision for the future with Trump's; and talk about her optimism for the future, the campaign said.

Her remarks will include talking about her childhood, including being raised by a working mother in a middle-class neighborhood.

Her attacks on Trump will focus on the Project 2025 agenda, which Democrats are using as a boogeyman against the former president.

Michelle Obama addressed the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday

Oprah Winfrey surprised delegates with her appearance on Wednesday

Ultimately, Harris ill pitch herself as a president for all Americans.

Harris has focused her campaign message on one of joy, a theme that carried over to the Democratic convention, which has featured uplifting speeches and musical performances.

The joy will continue on Thursday when The Chicks sing the National Anthem.

'Sometimes, when you are a sitting office holder, you don't always have the opportunity to be out there and tell people the elements of your life as you're making decisions day in and day out,' Harris campaign chair Jen O'Mally Dillon said Wednesday at the CNN-Politico Grill.

'This opportunity we have right now is to not just say who she is and who she's been fighting for, but how those values and her life's work has led to this point and led her to be the partner she's been to the president, and to be the kind of individual leader she's going to be moving forward.'

Harris did not attend the convention on Wednesday night. Instead she watched the speeches from her hotel room, practiced her own remarks and rested her voice.

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