'Will be president for all Americans': Kamala Harris formally accepts presidential nomination

In one of the most important speeches of her career so far, US Vice President Kamala Harris vowed to be “the president for all Americans”, as she formally accepted the party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Walking on to the stage to a thunderous applause and standing ovation, Harris accepted the party's nomination, becoming the second woman to do so for the Democratic Party—the first being Hillary Clinton.

“On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey on behalf of Americans, like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination the United States,” she said.

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Harris's father Donald Jasper Harris is Jamaican-American, while her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, is an immigrant to the US from India.

The 59-year-old urged all Americans to reject political divisions, and warned of "extremely serious" consequences of putting her Republican rival Donald Trump back in White House.

She said the November 5 election is the most important in America's history. “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. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans," Harris said.

Here are the other highlights from her 40-minute speech.

• Calling Trump an “unserious man”, she reminded all of the chaos and calamity of his years in the Oval Office, including the infamous storming of the US Capitol Building by his supporters, on January 6, 2021.

• Harris also pointed out how Trump questioned the election results in 2020 when he lost his reelection bid.

• She also highlighted that the former president was convicted on 34 felony counts in a hush money case and that a federal jury in his civil defamation trial found that Trump had sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll.

• She also extended support to Ukraine and NATO allies.

• Harris said if she's elected to be the 47th president of the United States, she will aim to pass a middle class tax cut.

• She called for an end to the war in Gaza, while pledging to secure Israel. "Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done. And let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself,” Harris said.
  "What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost, desperate hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking," she said."President (Joe) Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are release, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination."

• Harris vowed to fight tyranny around the world, accusing Trump of cozying up to dictators like Kim Jong Un.