DNC 2024 live updates: Kamala Harris, accepting Democratic nomination, says 'the future is always worth fighting for'

Following her primetime speech closing the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris will remain in Chicago overnight, according to the daily schedule released by her office.

On Friday, Harris "will receive briefings and conduct internal meetings with staff" before heading back to Washington, D.C., with second gentleman Doug Emhoff in the afternoon.

The fourth and final night of the DNC has concluded. On Wednesday, Sen. Tim Walz of Minnesota formally accepted the Democratic vice presidential nomination; tonight, Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the presidential nomination.

Some 100,000 balloons dropped from the ceiling in the convention center as Harris, Walz and their families headed off the stage.

Harris received an emphatic response from the crowd when she addressed the Israel-Hamas war, calling for a hostage deal, a cease-fire and acknowledging the human suffering in Gaza as well as Israel's right to defend itself.

"Let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself and I will always ensure that Israel has the ability to defend itself because the people of Israel must never again face the terror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7," she said.

"At the same time," she continued. "What has happened in Gaza over the past ten months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking."

Earlier this week at the DNC, the parents of a 23-year-old American-Israeli hostage who was taken on Oct. 7, pleaded for the hostages to be released.

Uncommitted delegates staged a sit-in earlier today outside of the convention center in protest of the lack of Palestinian-American speakers at the DNC.

“President Biden and I are working to end this war," Harris said Thursday. "Such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”

Kamala Harris connected her "freedom" theme to abortion rights, using her speech to directly tie Donald Trump to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

"I believe that America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives, especially on matters of heart and home," she said. "But tonight, in America, too many women are not able to make those decisions. And let's be clear about how we got here: Donald Trump handpicked members of the United States Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom. And now he brags about it."

She continued: "I've traveled across our country. And women have told me their stories. Husbands and fathers have shared theirs. 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."

Harris then turned to Project 2025, a draft plan for Trump's second term that lays out even more aggressive anti-abortion measures. Trump has distanced himself from the proposals, which were created by allies and former members of his administration.

"This is what's happening in our country because of Donald Trump. And understand, he's not done," Harris said. "Simply put, they are out of their minds. And one must ask, why exactly is it that they don't trust women? Well, we trust women. We trust women."

Turning her attention to the border in her speech, Harris promised to bring back the bipartisan border security bill that passed the House but was blocked by Republicans in the Senate. Former President Donald Trump pressured GOP senators not to pass it.

"I refuse to play politics with our security," Harris said. "As president, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed and sign it into law."

In her speech Thursday, Harris spent considerable time laying out the arguments against reelecting Trump to a second term. In some ways, her presentation felt similar to how a prosecutor, a role she has held, presents a case to a jury.

"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," she said. "When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite. He fanned the flames."

A former district attorney in San Francisco and California's former attorney general, Harris built her rhetorical presentation throughout her speech.

"For an entirely different set of crimes, he was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans, and separately found liable for committing sexual abuse," she added.

Since entering the race, she has touted her experience as a prosecutor, promising to hold Trump to account, and Thursday's speech offered the biggest example of that.

"Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again. Consider his explicit intent to set free violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol," she said, adding, "His explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens. 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."

On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump appears to be live posting in response to Harris's speech, with over 20 posts just in the first 25 minutes.

Many of the posts were attacks against Harris. "IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ME?" he asked in one post.

In another he asked "WHERE'S HUNTER?" despite none of the Bidens being at the convention tonight.

Kamala Harris is using the entire start of her speech to introduce herself: her family, her upbringing and, by extension, her values.

Harris addressed both her mother and her father — immigrants from India and Jamaica, respectively. Her father, she said, "taught me to be fearless." She then addressed their divorce: "But the harmony between my parents did not last. When I was in elementary school, they split up, and it was mostly my mother who raised us."

And she stressed how she grew up in a "beautiful, working-class neighborhood of firefighters, nurses and construction workers — all who tended their lawns with pride."

Although Harris has been in the public eye as vice president for four years, her campaign clearly believes there is a swath of the electorate that needs to understand who she is on a more human level. If she can convince voters that she has an ethical moral compass, she may be able to blunt some of Donald Trump's attacks in the race as well.

After formally accepting the Democratic presidential nomination, Harris used her convention-closing speech to make a call for unity.

"With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past," Harris said. "A chance to chart a new way forward, not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.

"And let me say, I know there are people of various political views watching tonight," she continued. "And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred America's fundamental principles, from the rule of law to free and fair elections.

"I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations," Harris added. "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."

During her speech on Thursday, Harris introduced the country to her background and used those recollections to reinforce a theme that has been heard throughout the Democratic convention.

Recounting what her mother taught her growing up, Harris said, "She taught us to never complain about injustice, but do something about it."

That "do something" message was also heard in speeches given by former first lady Michelle Obama, former President Barack Obama and talk show icon Oprah Winfrey.

Harris began her speech by talking about her parents. Her mom, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, was also mentioned by Harris's sister, Maya, earlier tonight.

"My mother was a brilliant, 5-foot tall, brown woman with an accent," Harris said, to cheers from the audience. "She was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for women's health and she taught Maya and I a lesson Michelle Obama talked about the other night: Never complain about injustice. Do something about it."

Her father, Donald Harris, met Shyamala at a civil rights gathering. The two split when Harris was in elementary school and there is one memory of him Harris shared that resonates with her campaign.

"Run, Kamala, run. Don't be afraid and don't let anything stop you," she remembered him telling her.

Vice President Kamala Harris began her DNC speech by wishing her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, a happy anniversary.

"Let me start by thanking my most incredible husband, Doug, for being an incredible partner to me and an incredible father to Cole and Ella," Harris said. "And happy anniversary, Dougie."

Today marks their 10th anniversary. The pair were married at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse on Aug. 22, 2014.

Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage Thursday at Chicago's United Center to accept her party's nomination for president.

"Good evening, everyone, good evening," she said, beaming a smile as her crowd cheered and chanted "U-S-A!"

"Let's get to business," she said, quieting the excited crowd.

Kamala Harris's sister, Maya Harris, took to the stage to tell the story of their "trailblazer" late mother: Shyamala Gopalan Harris, an immigrant from India.

"She raised us to believe that we could be and do anything — and we believed her," said Maya Harris. Their mother "understood the power and the possibility that come with knowing and showing who you truly are. She knew we could be the authors of our own stories, just as she'd been the author of her own."

She added: "That's a distinctly American story."

Maya also connected their mother's lessons to the person her sister is today.

"She knows what it's like to be the underdog yet still beat the odds. And now, she has created so much electricity, so much optimism, so much joy throughout the nation. And it's why we need her leadership in this historic moment," she said.

A lawyer, public policy expert and author, Maya Harris served as a senior policy adviser to Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign.

Former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican, addressed his unusual presence at the DNC head-on in his opening remarks: "I never thought I'd be here. But you never thought you'd see me here, did you?"

Kinzinger shared how he's seen the Republican Party change since Trump was elected in 2016. He says he still identifies as a Republican and hopes his speech can reach other Republicans who don't recognize their party anymore.

"I learned something about the Democratic Party: The Democrats are as patriotic as us," he said. "They love this country just as much as we do."

Kinzinger was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

"Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party," he said. "The Republican Party is no longer conservative, it has switched its allegiance."

Kinzinger was one of two Republicans to serve on the House Jan. 6 select committee and has been a fierce critic of Trump. Scorned by his party for participating in the investigation of Trump's actions leading up to and during the riot at the Capitol building, he announced in 2021 that he would not seek reelection the following year.

Actress Eva Longoria also took the stage during the DNC on Thursday night to teach the crowd a new chant.

"In the Latino community, in our community, we have a saying, 'Si se puede,' which means ... 'Yes, we can.' But tonight, I'm here to tell you: Yes, she can," Longoria said.

"So, when someone asks you, 'Is she ready to lead this country forward?' We're going to say, 'She se puede.' When somebody says, 'Is she qualified for the job?' We're going to say, 'She se puede.' When somebody asks, 'Is she going to be the first female president of the United States?' We're going to say, 'She se puede.'" The crowd chanted in response.

Vice President Kamala Harris has arrived at the United Center after a quick ride from her hotel, according to the traveling press pool.

"The ride here was the fastest I’ve ever seen a motorcade move," Jeff Mordock, White House reporter for the Washington Times, noted in his pool report.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used her primetime address to depict Kamala Harris as both “tough” and empathetic, contrasting that sharply with her Republican rival.

“Donald Trump doesn’t know you at all,” Whitmer said. “You think he understands that when your car breaks down, you can’t get to work? No! His first word was probably ‘chauffeur.’ You think he has ever had to take items out of the cart before checking out? Hell, you think he’s ever been to a grocery store? That’s what the chauffeur is for.”

She added: “But Kamala Harris, she gets us. She sees us. She is us.”

Later, Whitmer argued that “in a crisis, we need someone strong enough to come up with a plan, to tell the truth, and to bring people together. Right now, before the crisis, is when we get to choose. Why wouldn't we choose the leader who’s tough, tested and a total badass.”

Whitmer has been governor of Michigan since 2019 and is widely considered to be a future candidate for national office. In 2020, she gave her party’s response to then-President Trump’s State of the Union address. Later that year, the Justice Department arrested 13 men over a plot to kidnap Whitmer and to violently overthrow Michigan’s government.