There has been an incredible frustration among Democrats in the Donald Trump era that, with his mastery of marketing and rally-making, he has told a story that he and his party are the only ones who love America. If they put “America First,” everybody else, by definition, puts America last.
But through four days of flag waving, sign holding, “USA” chanting and lengthy declarations of devotion to democracy, the Democratic National Convention was a full-throated declaration that Democrats can love America, too. And do.
When Kamala Harris took the stage Thursday night, she said as much herself.
“On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America,” she said.
The imagery of American history and patriotism was unmistakable throughout the convention and the lead-up to it. When Harris spoke at a rally in Milwaukee earlier in the week, she stood before a three-story sign that wrote out a single word: “FREEDOM.” Supporters were given wrist LED bracelets that flashed red and blue in unison. Chants of “USA!” erupted spontaneously during her remarks.
Likewise, delegates on Thursday night were given just three items on the convention floor — American flags and signs that said “USA” and “KAMALA.”
The speeches and performances leading up to her nomination, too, layered on the message. The Chicks, who were once drummed out of country music for criticizing the war in Iraq, sang the national anthem in three-part harmony. Gov. Tim Walz was preceded by a dose of all-American Friday night light, when the high school football team he coached arrived on the stage to the the Marine Corps anthem, which was also their fight song.
And when both former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and former Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger spoke to delegates, they told fellow Republicans in the television audience that loving their country, in this moment, meant abandoning their party and voting against Trump.
“Voting for Kamala Harris doesn’t make you a Democrat,” Duncan said. “It makes you a patriot.”
And it is Trump, not the Democrats, who are a danger to democracy, Kinzinger said
“I know Kamala Harris shares my allegiance to the rule of law, the Constitution and democracy, and she is dedicated to upholding all three in service to our country,” the former congressman added. “Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamental matters of principle, of decency and of fidelity to this nation.”
At some points when Harris took the stage, she sounded like a Republican of old herself.
She spoke about the rule of law and the role of NATO; fidelity to the Constitution; and of the essential value of democracy. She laid out an unequivocally muscular foreign policy, complete with a commitment to defend against Russia and “ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world.”
Her biggest applause line, other than the moment she accepted the nomination, came next, when she added, “I will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families, and I will always honor and never disparage their service and their sacrifice.” Chants of “USA!” broke out.
The entire arc of the message this week was twofold — first to reclaim and redefine what it means to be an American patriot with real freedom, including the freedom to vote and the freedom to make your own choices without the government interfering.
Second, it was an explicit invitation to independents and Republicans to support Harris in November after years of being told that if they’re not supporting Trump, they’re not putting America first.
“There are people of various political views watching tonight. I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans,” Harris said. “You can always trust me to put country above party and self. ... I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations.”
It seemed to be the convention that the audience in Chicago — Black and white, men and women, veterans, immigrants, even liberals and moderates — were hungry for, both because they believed it and because they think it could put them on even footing with Trump on their road to get Harris elected.
“I smell victory in the air,” state Sen. Nan Orrock said as she sat on the convention floor ahead of Harris’ speech Thursday.
Sitting next to her was state Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler, 81, the first Black woman to be a Senate leader in Georgia, who was about to watch Harris take her own place in that American history.
“This is incredible,“ Butler said. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this.”
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