Kamala Harris officially announced her nomination today

It’s the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago—and Harris is the main event. Here’s what our columnists are watching.

Opinion Staff
| USA TODAY

Vice President Kamala Harris officially becomes the Democratic presidential nominee on Thursday. After a week of Democratic National Committee ceremonies in Chicago, voters will have one final option to choose from, with the 2024 election picking up steam as November approaches.

Thursday’s DNC events come the morning after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz officially accepted the vice presidential nomination to join Harris, and after a full week of campaigning by both Republicans and Democrats.

With 75 days left until Election Day, USA TODAY Opinion columnists have a lot to say about the changes on the Democratic ticket. We’ll bring you live commentary and analysis along with coverage from the convention at the United Center.

On the final night of the Democratic National Convention, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will continue his strategy of counterprogramming through nonsensical talk, offering Americans a “LIVE REPORT OF THE TRUTH about Comrade Kamala Harris’ speech tonight.”

If you don’t know what Truth Social is, you’re in good company. It’s the social networking site that Trump started, the one with the constantly falling stock price and not many users.

If Facebook and what we once called Twitter constitute our digital city, then Truth Social is the rat-infested alley behind a building a few blocks away where a drunk guy is vomiting into a trash can.

All week long, as the DNC buzzed with enthusiasm and star-studded plot twists, Trump tried to distract with campaign events. But these were low-energy speeches in which he invariably launched into babbling about what was supposed to be his campaign’s central message.

So I think he’ll try a different tactic on Thursday — he’ll sit at home and write angry rants while he watches Harris win the Democratic nomination in Chicago.

If you want a taste of what’s to come, here’s an excerpt from what Trump wrote about Harris on Thursday morning: “UNDER COMRADE KAMALA’S RULE, AMERICA WILL BE THE MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. IT WILL RETURN TO THIRD WORLD STATUS VERY QUICKLY!”

So we can expect a lot of substantive analysis from him on Thursday evening.

Maybe this guy just needs to get through this screaming posts.

—Rex Huppke, USA TODAY

Billionaires for Harris: Democrats’ Wealthy Elites Tell Us How to Vote

On behalf of the party of the “average man,” the Democratic National Convention brought together a host of Hollywood stars and wealthy elites to urge ordinary Americans to support a slate of candidates that does not actually serve the interests of many voters.

Oprah Winfrey has a net worth of $3 billion, yet she had the nerve to tell the convention audience Wednesday night that she’s had a hard time.

“I saw racism and sexism and income inequality and division,” said Winfrey, who grew up poor and experienced childhood sexual abuse. “I not only saw it; I was sometimes a victim of it myself.”

The TV megastar n urged independents to vote for Kamala Harris, whose platform includes tax policies that would hurt many Americans. Such talk seems ridiculous coming from a billionaire.

But Oprah wasn’t the only one to deliver an ambiguous message.

Former first lady Michelle Obama gave a moving speech Tuesday night in which she reflected on her late mother’s legacy.

“She and my father didn’t aspire to be rich — in fact, they were suspicious of people who took more than they needed,” Obama said. “They understood that it wouldn’t be enough for their children to thrive if everyone around them was drowning.”

I don’t doubt that was the case when she was a child, but it seems ironic now that she and her husband, former President Barack Obama, enjoy a net worth of $70 million, including several expensive homes.

From Oprah and John Legend to Stevie Wonder and Mark Hamill, it’s beyond hypocritical to see A-list celebrities with sky-high net worths supporting Democrats who want to pass policies that hurt the incomes of average Americans. It’s disingenuous at best.

If anything, Oprah and the Obamas have a history in common: They have achieved the epitome of the American dream.

Yet as they urge Americans to vote for Harris, they fail to realize that they are supporting a candidate who will not help other Americans climb the ladder of success they themselves have climbed.

—Nicole Russell, USA TODAY

What if we told you that winning an election requires a coalition?

No one wins the presidency in America just by supporting their political party. You need a coalition of voters. Former presidents know this better than most.

So the speeches delivered this week at the Democratic National Convention by Barack Obama on Tuesday and Bill Clinton on Wednesday were notable not for drawing cheering crowds in a Chicago arena but for their eager and open appeal to voters who weren’t there but might have been listening.

Now more than ever, such actions are crucial to Vice President Kamala Harris and her presidential bid, given reports that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is likely to drop his unsuccessful independent run on Friday.

Kennedy is the most high-profile — albeit for embarrassingly controversial reasons — third option in the November election for voters unhappy with their choices and wanting to vote protest.

Obama told the adoring crowd that they needed to recognize their own “blind spots, contradictions and biases” while appealing to undecided voters to support Harris.

“Our fellow citizens deserve the same grace we hope they will show us,” he said.

Clinton asked those gathered to show respect for people with different beliefs while also trying to relate to the reasons they support Harris.

“I urge you to meet people where they are,” he said. “I urge you not to put them down, but also not to pretend you disagree with them if you do. Treat them with respect, just as you would have them treat you.”

This kind of mirrored messaging from two different former presidents doesn’t happen by accident. This is Harris’ campaign throwing obstacles in the way of a big-tent party eager to welcome support from voters nervous about another term for Donald Trump.

—Chris Brennan, USA TODAY