The Democratic National Convention will conclude Thursday night with what is, by any measure, the marquee event of the week: when Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage to formally accept her party’s nomination to be president.
The acceptance speech is historically a high-profile (and high-stakes) moment that provides candidates an opportunity to speak directly to the nation and offer a vision for their presidency. That’s particularly so this time.
It has been barely a month since President Biden dropped out of the race and Ms. Harris began her own campaign. She is still something of a mystery to these delegates, who are eager to see how — in tone and substance — she intends to take the fight to Donald J. Trump.
Here are five things to watch for on the convention’s final night:
Framing the case against Trump: There has been no shortage of how-to-run-against-Trump game plans laid out this week. President Biden branded the former president a threat to democracy. Hillary Clinton reminded voters that he is a felon. Michelle and Barack Obama presented him as a billionaire businessman who only cares about himself, promoting division and hate to advance his career. Ms. Harris will have the chance, before the biggest audience of her career, to signal which of these roads she might take, or set out her own agenda for the campaign ahead.
Running late: Republican convention planners had to worry about only one main star. Their Democratic counterparts have had to juggle a large and jostling cast of politicians, labor and business leaders, and celebrities. But even granting these difficulties, logistics have been a challenge for Democrats this week. Mr. Biden didn’t finish his speech until well past midnight Eastern time on Monday, and Mr. Obama didn’t even get started until a few minutes after 11 p.m. on Tuesday. There have been last-minute alterations to speed up the program as it droned on. James Taylor, who was cut at the last minute on Monday night, still has not performed. So the challenge for Democrats on Night 4: Can they get Ms. Harris onstage in prime time?
Clearing the Obama bar: Ms. Harris is an accomplished public speaker. But she has the unenviable role of being the closing act at a convention that included some of the most powerful speakers in memory, including Mrs. Obama on Tuesday. “I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama,” her husband said as he took the lectern, only to deliver his own memorable speech. For a hall of Democrats eager to see just how strong Ms. Harris will be against Mr. Trump, her ability to play on this field is crucial. The comparison to the Obamas is perhaps not a fair yardstick. But that is what is going to be on the delegates’ minds.
The past vs. the future: How much of Ms. Harris’s remarks will be devoted to Mr. Trump? The convention has been designed as a four-day generational handoff: Mr. Biden, who focused on the past, was relegated to the first night. The Obamas took over the second night, presenting themselves as a bridge to a Harris administration. Wednesday night was for the past and potential future, too, featuring former President Bill Clinton ahead of Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, Ms. Harris’s running mate. Those boxes are now checked. And with Ms. Harris eager to make this campaign about the future, we’ll see how much she chooses to talk about herself.
Divisions: The Democratic Party came into this week worried that divisions over Mr. Biden’s support for Israel in its war in Gaza would produce demonstrations in the streets and in the hall, marring an attempt to present the party as united. For the first three nights, there was very little of that. How Ms. Harris addresses the war, knowing that few issues divide the delegates as much as this one, will be closely watched.
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