Harris will focus acceptance speech on her background, Project 2025, patriotism

Vice President Harris will focus on her background, the conservative Project 2025 agenda and her patriotism in her acceptance speech on Thursday, a Harris-Walz campaign official told The Hill.

She will seek to share her story of being raised by a working mother in a middle-class neighborhood. Harris is expected to argue that her background means she knows the everyday joys and challenges experienced by middle-class families, the campaign official said. 

And, she will discuss how she became a prosecutor in order to protect others, such as survivors of sexual abuse or homeowners impacted by the foreclosure crisis.

A second objective of her acceptance speech will be to contrast her vision for the future to that of former President Trump and the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 agenda, from which Trump and his campaign has sought to distance themselves.

Harris will use the speech to connect Trump to the agenda and argue that it would rip away freedoms, increase the cost of living and take the country backwards, aligning with her campaign slogan “we’re not going back.” She plans to also outline her “New Way Forward” plan, which the campaign official said is an optimistic agenda that provides economic opportunity and protects fundamental freedoms.

A third goal of her acceptance speech will be to root her vision in her deep sense of patriotism, according to the campaign official. She will argue that she is optimistic about the future because of her faith in the American people and that she believes in the promise of America.

The vice president will work to show voters that she wants to be a president for all Americans, the campaign official said.

Harris’s speech will wrap up the Democrats’ convention in Chicago. On Wednesday night, Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) gave the keynote address and before that, President Biden and former President Obama gave the keynote addresses.