CHICAGO — US Vice-President Kamala Harris officially accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention, or DNC, held at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday night.

"I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America," said Harris, 59, the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket in the country, in a speech on the DNC's fourth and final day.

"With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past, a chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans."

Harris reflected on her upbringing as a person of Indian and African descent and her experience working as a prosecutor in the Bay Area and as California's attorney general.

In her speech, Harris said building the middle class would be a defining goal of her presidency, emphasizing her own middle-class roots. She elaborated on abortion rights, immigration policy and foreign policy, among other topics.

She told the crowd she would bring together labor, small business owners and US companies to create jobs, and that she would endeavor "to grow our economy and to lower the cost of everyday needs like healthcare and housing and groceries".

Harris also blasted former president Donald Trump's actions and policies, describing the consequences of putting Trump back in the White House as "extremely serious".

"We know what a second Trump term would look like," she said, saying he wanted to "pull our country back to the past".

In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, lashed out at Harris' speech, saying that she stands for "incompetence" and "weakness".

He gave a play-by-play on the speech, accusing Harris of making the US a "failing nation" as part of President Joe Biden's administration.

Earlier on Thursday, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched near the DNC venue to express their dissatisfaction with the Biden administration's Israel policy.

In her acceptance speech, Harris attempted to address the Israel-Palestine conflict.

"President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination," she said.

On Aug 6, the DNC announced that Harris had been officially certified as the party's presidential nominee following a five-day online balloting process.

On Wednesday night, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz officially accepted the party's vice-presidential nomination at the convention.

Tight race

Harris has raised a record-breaking $500 million in a month and narrowed the gap or taken the lead against Trump in many opinion polls of battleground states. Nationwide, she leads Trump 46.6 percent to 43.8 percent, according to a compilation of polls by FiveThirtyEight.

As Democrats gather for the convention, Trump has been holding campaign rallies in multiple states this week, including key swing states Michigan, North Carolina and Arizona.

The race between the two remains tight in key swing states that could decide the election results.

According to the latest poll data compiled by RealClearPolitics, Harris leads Trump by 1 percentage point in Wisconsin and by 2 percentage points in Michigan.

In Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Arizona, Harris trails by 0.2 percentage points, 0.9 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points, respectively.

Xinhua - Agencies