The National Assembly of the Democratic Party begins its work on Monday evening in the city of Chicago. During the four-day event, which marks the climax for the Democrats, speeches are expected to be held in support of the candidate for the White House, Kamala Harris, but there will also be attacks on her Republican opponent, Donald Trump.
Democrats have tapped the nation's top executives and a number of prominent figures to deliver speeches in support of their White House nominee. Kamala Harris entered the presidential race less than a month ago after President Joe Biden withdrew amid mounting pressure among Democratic Party leaders.
The Democratic president fared poorly in a debate with Republican rival Donald Trump in late June, while falling polls showed he was likely to lose to his predecessor.
President Biden, 81, expressed support for Vice President Harris, who is 59. Mr. Biden will address the convention on Monday to tell the 4,000 delegates and audience why she deserves to succeed him as the nation's 47th president.
If she wins, Kamala Harris will become the first woman president of the United States, and the second leader of African-American descent to lead the White House. She is also of Indian origin. In 2009, Democrat Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and led the country until January 2017, becoming the first black president in United States history.
But more importantly for Democrats, a number of national polls show that Ms. Harris currently enjoys more support than her Republican rival and leads in battleground states that are likely to determine the outcome of the US election.
Mr Obama will address the assembly on Tuesday while former President Bill Clinton will address delegates on Wednesday. Vice President Harris will deliver her speech on Thursday, the last night of the convention, where she will formally accept the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States.
Earlier this month, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz secured the nomination through an electronic ballot.
Seventy-year-old Tim Walz, who is in his second term as governor of Minnesota, has been a high school teacher and served 12 years as a legislator in his state's House of Representatives.
During his 5 1/2 years in charge of Minnesota, he has implemented a liberal agenda, but was little known in American political circles until his selection by Mrs. Harris to run for the White House. He was selected against the two most popular Democratic figures. Advisers say Ms Harris thinks he is the most suitable figure to partner with if she wins the November 5 election.
Democrats who thought President Biden was too old to run, let alone serve another four years, immediately expressed support for Ms. Harris. President Biden is three years older than Republican Donald Trump.
Although Kamala Harris has previously represented California in the US Senate and is currently the Vice President of the United States, like Mr. Walz, she is somewhat of an unknown figure to the American public.
For many American voters, his acceptance speech may be the first time they've heard him speak in a long time.
Since taking over the baton for the presidential race, Ms. Harris has only rarely answered questions from reporters covering her campaign.
She has refused to hold an extensive press conference or to be interviewed by a major American television reporter. She has said that she will conduct such interviews at the end of August.
Ms. Harris has drawn thousands of supporters to rallies in battleground states, delivering carefully worded messages and reminding voters that she began her political career as a local prosecutor before becoming California's attorney general.
“In these tasks, I have encountered individuals of all kinds. So understand me when I say that I know the type of Donald Trump”, she said during a speech.
A jury found Mr Trump liable in civil cases for sexually abusing a woman and then defaming her, while another jury in May found him guilty of 34 criminal charges related to paying money to buy the actress' silence. pornographic films.
Earlier this year, a judge concluded that Mr. Trump had manipulated business records to secure favorable loans from banks and favorable rates from insurance companies and ordered him to pay about $300 million in damages.
Republican Trump has fiercely attacked rival Harris as an intellectual lightweight. He has said that Ms. Harris is not smart enough to face tough questions from reporters.
Some Republicans have asked Mr. Trump to drop his personal attacks on Ms. Harris and target her policies, but he has refused.
“I have a right to personal attacks,” he told reporters on Thursday. “I have to do it my way.”
While most delegates in the assembly have fully lined up behind Ms. Harris, several dozen others have said they are “undecided” about her candidacy, in protest at President Biden's administration's support for Israel in its fight against Hamas militants. in Gaza.
Harris, a Democrat, has widely supported Israel while calling for a ceasefire in the 10-month war. It has refused to support one of the demands of some of the pro-Palestinian delegates, an embargo on military aid to Israel.
